A Night On The Town
by Where's Beckett
Summary: Post the junk of 8x01 and 8x02 Castle tells the guys that he is in need of a little relief and he is going to find it somewhere. And maybe he gets more than he bargained. Does Beckett also need relief? How we might fix the mess that season 8 has become. The two best crime fighters are much better together and not apart.
1. Chapter 1

**All this belongs to ABC**

 **I still am in shock**

 **This is all Their fault. So this should just add to that bad feeling**

* * *

The Old Haunt is a good place to spend a Friday night.

With or without friends, Castle can have a quiet drink or write a few chapters of his next book or have good friends and partners come by and socialize a little.

Tonight he has done all three. He spent the early evening sitting at his favorite booth with his laptop open typing the latest chapter of his great novel.

"HA!" he thinks to himself. None of his books come close to the level of notoriety of Rowling or Paterson or Connley but Rick still has his faithful followers. Albeit smaller numbers that the great. They are sufficient to keep him supplied with the toys that have kept him distracted from his current loneliness

Tonight, however, what he needs is not a Laser Tag game or computer game. What he needs is what his body needs. What each and every red blooded male needs. And that is to be in intimate contact with another equally needy body. This one needs to be female and he has already made plans to deal with that need a little later tonight.

His thoughts are interrupted by the voices of his two former yet partly sill current partners.

"Hey Castle" comes the ever familiar greeting of Kevin Ryan followed by the same statement from Javier Esposito

"Hey guys" Castle responds as the two men place themselves at the corner booth

"How's the writing coming?" Esposito asks while indicating the now closed laptop

"I am at an impasse. Having trouble with my next step"

Ryan adds his take on the situation "Writer's block"

"Well that and nowhere to go next. Actually that is where I am. Unless I can come up with my next step, I will be stopped right here and not move forward any more"

As the drinks are placed by the waitress Esposito continues "Too bad. You were doing so good up until now"

"I know but I plan on taking my mind off all this tonight" he leaves the statement hanging in the air

The two detectives look at one another then back at their host "what are you planning on doing?"

"My body is in need of a little inspiration so I am going to spend some time…" he pauses while deciding on how to describe his next action "trying to get some inspiration from the underbelly of New York"

"Look man!" Kevin starts "What are you planning on doing?"

"I think I am going out on 7th Avenue"

"Castle that is NOT a great idea!"

"Yeah" Javi continues "You know who roams 7th Avenue. You might get yourself in trouble out there on the streets. Vice patrols that area regularly. You need to keep your nose clean. Don't get involved like that. Stay out of the spotlight"

Rick takes the final sip of his drink "Oh what I am planning on doing tonight will definitely NOT be in the spotlight. In fact I will stay as far away from the light as I can get"

"Look Castle. I know what you are saying. Without her at home anymore we know how you feel but is doing that really a good idea?"

"I don't know it being about a good idea, but it is something I need right now. I need some release really badly"

Ryan responds to the statement "You need to think about what will happen if you were to get caught out there too"

"Oh I won't get caught. I have scoped it out. The other patrons there are…shall we say men who are not interested in being discovered themselves"

"Castle. You need to find another way to get your…uh…" Ryan is trying to fins the correct word "release"

"Look guys, I am a big boy and I know what I need and I know how to take care of that need"

Ryan looks at his watch "I promised Jenny I would not be late for supper. Please reconsider and think about what damage might happen"

"Thanks Ryan but it has been too long for me to be with someone and…well just say I have a need"

The two detectives stand to leave "See you Castle" Javi says and Ryan waves as the two men walk out of the bar

Castle looks at his watch and decides it is time to go downstairs to his office and put everything away before leaving. For a night of pleasure

In his downstairs office he places his computer in the safe, takes off his cell phone and locks it inside as well. He takes out a burner phone and activates it. He changes coats and heads back up to the street

He walks the one block to the subway station and boards the trains heading north. After the third stop he returns to street level and then walks a half a block where he catches a cab. He then has the driver take him to a car rental store where he picks up a nice mid sized luxury sedan

He has now hidden himself from any prying paparazzi or reporters that might wonder why Richard Castle has taken himself to the lesser traveled section of town known for the more seedy nightlife

He begins slowly cruising from block to block looking for the perfect companion. The one he wants to get a little satisfaction from.

After cruising the fourth block he encounters a group of women just waiting for her next trick

Thru his partly opened passenger window he hears the sound of cat calls and seduction "Hey Big Boy you want to party?"

"Maybe" he responds come closer so I can see you" he speaks loudly out the window

Four women dressed with almost nothing on walk or rather slink over to his car. One other woman stays back near the building as if she is not really wanting to do this"

"Honey, want is it you want?" the larger of the group speaks as she leans into the window allowing everything she has up top to fall out for the entire world to see

"I don't know" Castle looks each and every one of the four over a couple of times then he comments "What is with her?" he points to the lone woman by the brick wall

The leader answers "She thinks she is special. She wants too much. We are all more reasonable and easy…if you know what I mean sweetie"

"Oh I do know what you mean. This is not my first trip here this month" again he looks over these four then comments "Have her come over here" pointing at the single hold out

The on who definitely seems to be the leader of the street crew walks back to the wall and forcefully pulls the woman toward Castle's car. When they arrive Castle speaks "What is our problem. With a thick foreign accent she answers "Nothing wrong. No understand"

Castle puts a smirk on his face "No understand huh? What about this…How much for everything?"

"No understand" is the response again

"I want all of you" he waves his hands around. This seems to get her attention

"Hundred?" is her answer.

He leans over and pushes open the door. "I love the accent. Get in"

The woman that seems to be controlling the group speaks again "you pay me, not her. NOW" and her hand goes out. Castle looks at the woman who is now seated beside him. She shakes her head in the affirmative. Castle reaches into his coat pocket and produces five twenties and hands them over to the woman, rolls the window up and drives of down the road

The trip is taken in silence with the passenger looking out the window thru her long bangs that so far have covered her eyes.

They reach the hotel a few blocks away from where they began and park around back. Castle goes to the room, opens the door and the guest enters first. Castle places the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the knob then closes the door and secures it wit the deadbolt

He takes off his coat and throws it on the chair.

He says firmly and she complies "Now turn around"

"Now take your clothes off! I want to see what I paid for" his eyes are dark and filled with wanton lust

The blouse and bra drop on the dirty carpet followed moments later with the micro mini skirt and panties.

His clothes have found their way to the back of the chair and he has moved to her and pounced on her like an angry lion devouring his prey


	2. Chapter 2

**I was planning on posting this on October 1 but**

 **I went ahead and posted a shorter version of chapter 2 to get everyone calmed down  
after where I left the first chapter.  
**

 **WOW I was afraid you were coming for me with pitchforks**

 **I hope what I do here to lower the angst is similar to the real show**  
 **That would really make me feel better**

 **So, for everyone's pleasure**

 _ **Enjoy**_

* * *

The sun easily creeps through the thin excuse for drapes that are covering the dirt covered windows. The room has brightened way more early than Castle would have liked but there is no denying where he is and what went on when they got there last night and then again several more times during the night

He moves to the toilet to deal with the usual morning needs. He then returns from the bathroom to the bed and looks around to try and make sure there are no crawling creatures on his or her clothes from being left out in the open last night. He also checks to make sure there are no listening or video devices hidden to give voyeurs their own form of pleasure

Satisfying himself that the activities from last night have not been recorded for future postings on the web, he reaches down to pick up her clothes and places them on top of his. He then slips back into the bed and slides himself back beside the partner from last night.

He feels her start to move then she rolls over and in one fast motion saddles herself on top of him "Well mister was I worth the hundred bucks and did you get all your needs completely satisfied last night?"

"Yum" is his only response

She places her arms on either side of his head. She leans in and begins kissing him starting at his forehead then his eyes, his nose, her long soft brunette hair falling on either side of his head. When she finally reaches his mouth with her lips, he takes charge of the activities and pulls her face flush to his.

As he holds her for all his might she moans softly "Last night was amazing"

"It was. Wasn't it?"

"You seemed to like it"

"I loved everything. I really loved the accent. What was that? "

"Oh a little Serbian mixed with Croatian"

"Where did you learn to talk like that?"

"I know people too"

"It was super sexy"

"Thank you...and where did you find Trixie and her pals? They are real hookers...aren't they?"

"I met her while researching for a Derrick Storm book"

"I suppose you used her services?" she pokes Castle's arm

"No. Just used her to gather research"

She looks softly in his eyes "Nothing else?"

"Nothing else"

"Hum" is the only sound she is making at the moment. Then she begins her gentle attack on his face with her lips

"You ready for more?" he questions

She pulls up a little letting him stare into her beautiful hazel eyes

"Only if you would pick a little less seedy motel. How did you find this place anyway?"

"I know a guy"

She sits up straight giving him the chance to look at all of her "You always know a guy. Don't you"

"You have no idea how many guys I know" she almost laughs back to him

"Well, next time can you 'KNOW' a guy with a motel with a cleaner room. This place is nasty"

"Hey. I asked him to clean it up special for us"

Kate looks around the room and it does look better than so many of the rooms she had seen in the past while investigating murders. "OK it does look a little cleaner"

Castle puts his hands on Kate's legs where they are resting on top of his "I know. Next time you can be a high class call girl and we can meet up at the Four Seasons"

She leans back down to his face "Next time I would like to find a way to be in our own bed"

Rick moves his hands from her legs to her back and holds her tightly to him "Me too"

With that kiss, the activities move rapidly to more of what these two did most of the night before

* * *

When they finally get dressed Kate puts back on the fake wig and glasses she was wearing last night and they go out to his car to leave. He drops her off at an alley that they know is safe and is being watched by an investigator of his PI firm and he speeds back to the rental store to return the vehicle.

The man watches until Beckett is safely in a cab and on her way to the safe house that she had set up

But their separation does not occur until she has given Rick a flash drive containing the information she wants investigated. Information that if it were to appear on department computers would immediately point to her as the source of inquiry.

* * *

 **I could NOT let anyone go to sleep thinking Castle would cheat on Kate**

 **I feel better.**

 **Don't you?**


	3. Chapter 3

**This was only going to be a two shot But I got so many asking for me to continue it.**  
 **I am trying to figure out where it will go, buit just like Marlow once said, the charachters tell you where to go, So I am letting them tell me where to go**

* * *

12th Precinct

Both Detectives Ryan and Esposito keep looking at the elevator waiting for it to announce the arrival of the captain. They had a long and serious conversation about what they should or should not do when she arrives

Detective Javier Esposito wants to walk into Captain Beckett's office and announce to her that her, in no uncertain terms, that her old man is stepping out on her.

Detective Kevin Ryan has a different opinion. He thinks they need to talk to Castle and get him to work things out with his estranged wife before it goes so far they can never get it fixed

"Listen Kevin…" the fire in the Latin detectives eyes is sharp and strong "She does not deserve to be cheated on by that two timing gigolo. Once a playboy, always a playboy. It's in his blood. He is going to cheat on Kate and by doing so he does not deserve to have her and she definitely does not deserve that kind of treatment"

"Javi! What are you saying? This is all Castle's fault? From what I heard, from good sources, she moved out leaving him standing in their loft no knowing what is going on. Does that sound like he did this?"

"No, but I just know his history. She met him during an investigation where he was signing women's boobs and picking up women for late night flings"

Kevin continues his defense "Don't you think if he had ready done something she would tell Lanie? And she has not mentioned a reason for the split"

Esposito look toward the boss's office. "In fact Lanie says Kate won't talk about it with her"

"So that means Beckett did something…maybe did something really bad to ruin the marriage"

Javier Esposito grits his teeth "Are you saying SHE stepped out on Castle first? She…and what this tech guy from DC are? You know…" he takes a breath "No man that is not what is going on but we need to figure it out"

The elevator bell rings and when the door open the pair see the tall writer steps pout. He has a cat eating canary grin from one ear to the other. He is carrying only one coffee cup and is whistling

When he arrives at the desk that was formerly Kate's he sits down "Good morning detectives"

With a death glare in his face Esposito's eyes are cutting the space between himself and the writer "Really? Bro!"

"What?" Castle responds innocently

"Lose the 'I just got laid' voice"

"What do you mean?"

"First! I am a trained detective…and second you told us where you were going last night and it is not cool to be doing this here and especially not now. Not at all!"

"Javi. I have not done anything wrong"

"You mean going down to 7th Avenue was NOT doing something wrong. That place is full of hookers

"Esposito. I promise the last person I was in bed with was my wife"

"In bed! Right! So where did you do it last night? Do it in the car?"

The voice of Captain Beckett comes in loud and strong "Do what in the car?"

"Nothing" both men respond at the same moment

"OK" she responds "Castle what are you doing here?"

"I…uh…I just come by to see if you had a case I could help on"

She looks at him with her famous glare "No! We do not have a case and even if we did, you need to stay away. You have no reason to be here anymore" she turns and walks to her office and closes the door

Castle just stands outside the captain's closed office door then finally turns and moves back beside the desk of detective Esposito. The same desk that he had sat beside for many years before

Esposito finally speaks up to Castle "That is exactly how we all fell now Castle" he points his thumb in the direction of Beckett's office "I think it is best you leave right now"

"Gus. I told you that I have done nothing wrong here. I am the one who has been wronged here"

Ryan walks up beside Javier's desk and looks at Rick "Castle. I think it might be best if you leave right now"

"OK I understand" he stands "but you need to know that I have done nothing…"

Javi speaks up firmly "Listen. We heard you the first time, but her asking for a break does not give you the right to be stepping out on Beckett"

Ryan finishes the thought "and I think you need to leave the precinct and don't come back"

Castle stands and starts walking toward the elevator with the same dejected look he had in the past when Kate was dating Josh Davidson or Tom Deming

The elevator doors open and he steps in, moves to the back wall and drops his head against the rear of the cab

Once out on the street he hails a cab and gives the driver the address for the Old Haunt. Once the car pulls away from the curb there is a vibration coming from his pocket. He pulls out a burner phone and opens the screen to read the message

'That was hard to watch'

He types a response 'Even harder to experience'

'I wish we didn't make the guys think you would cheat on me'

'I know. On my way to Cavern'

'Let me know when you have something'

'K'

"luvU'

'U2'

He puts the phone back into his pocket then looks out the window watching the city scape go by

In fifteen minutes he arrives at the bar. Once inside he goes down to the office and closes the stairway door locking it to provide total privacy. He moves across the office and pulls open the bookcase passage and moves into the underground corridor toward the East River.

What no one is aware of, Richard Castle also purchased another building a block away and reopened the secret underground bootleg pathway in between. When he arrives at the new office he goes up to the street level where a legitimate travel agency operates.

The travel agency is a perfect cover for this covert activity. His office manager and lead investigative agent, Jake Garrett, as the head of the travel agency and is an expert in counter terrorism.

Castle found him through his contact with Agent Gray from so many years before. Agent Gray was happy to set Castle up with a former operative. At least with Gray, Rick felt like he had a person he could trust to open the necessary doors. With the attacks that occurred against he and his wife they both knew there was a leak in either the department or one of the other agencies and it was going to be difficult is not impossible to locate someone they could trust

Jake is a former member of the FBI, then Homeland Security. After a short stint in the CIA then NSA he moved back to the private sector. He was never comfortable working on activities that might endanger US citizens and he refused to become involved in the type of actions that LockStat and Bracken represented and now with his knowledge, Castle feels like this might be their only chance to find the ghost.

When Castle enters his secret office inside the travel agency she sends a message to Jake that he is in the building. A few minutes later there is a knock behind the bookcase and Castle presses a release button to open the pathway.

The tall yet handsome man enters the office "Rick, What do you have for me?"

Castle holds up the flash drive Kate gave him before leaving his side earlier this morning

""Backstory information Kate gave me. I looked at it but it does not make any sense"

Garrett takes the USB and looks at the device "It might be encoded. I will look at it and let you know" The man walks to the opening then turns back "Any luck in figuring out who the mole is in the department?"

Castle shakes his head no

"Are you two being careful?"

Yeah. In fact we did something last night that made Ryan and Esposito think I am cheating on Kate. They blew up at me this morning when I came in the precinct"

"Is that were you were coming from this morning when you dropped her off?"

"Yeah. We spent the night in a no tell motel"

"Listen, I know this is hard for you two. Why don't I set up a getaway for ya'll. I can do a scan and make sure you have a couple of days alone without thinking about this case

"Jake that would be nice. I appreciate that and I know Kate will too. Thanks


	4. Chapter 4

Having a husband that you are separated from is not easy. Especially when you are totally, madly, completely in love with him and she has absolutely no doubt about his feelings for her. Their love for one another goes way beyond the physical connection they share. As much as they both love the intimate times together, the non-intimate moments are every bit as important to them

She cannot help but let her mind return to the night they spend together in that sleazy motel making that intimate connection and just how good it felt to actually go to sleep next to her husband but she is also craving some quiet private time with him. Somewhere they can just talk and cuddle. It has been too long since they were able to accomplish that

Pulling her mind and heart back to the tasks at hand she breaks herself out of her dream world

Captain Beckett is sitting at her desk with the current schedule of open cases on her computer screen along with the current assignments. She has to keep the work load balanced with all her teams of detectives, but at the same time juggling her personal investigation going quietly and making sure she keeps her marriage going strong too

She looks over the assignment sheet and decides to call Ryan and Esposito in for an update on their cases

She walks out her door and looks for the pair. They are not at their desks but she can see them in the break room at the coffee machine that her husband brought in so many years before. She silently walks up to the door and that is when he begins to overhear the discussion taking place over a fresh cup of cappuccino

The voice of the strong willed Hispanic detective comes over first loud and strong "That guy is a dog. I cannot believe that he is going out getting his jollies in back alleys with hookers while leaving Beckett all alone"

"Listen Javi. I agree that what he seems to be dong is wrong, but you know he was dumped by her. I mean after all these years of him chasing her and wanting to just be with her and watching out for her, protecting her and she just drops him like yesterday's Ledger…and from what I hear, no reason was given…"

"Where did you hear that?"

"Some of the uniforms heard her on the telephone talking to someone saying that she felt really bad walking out like she did. It sounded like she had not explained herself"

"Kevin, you only heard a part of a call and you automatically think it is her doing? Maybe she caught him with another woman or looking at internet porn and figured she must not be enough for him and he is after more…"

Beckett decides it is time to shut down this conversation. Using her best 'boss' voice "Guys! I need to see you two in my office" she turns and briskly walks back into her private domain

Once inside she points to the entry "Close the door" and the two men comply

"I need updates on the Watkins and Taylor cases" she picks up the files and opens them on her desk and prepares to make notes

Kevin reaches into his coat pocket and retrieves his note pad and begins reporting on the status of the cases. Once he finishes his dissertation Esposito fills in a few gaps in the stories. It appears both cases are near closing.

"Good" she says "I have another murder that just came in so I am assigning it to you two" she hands the call sheet to Ryan "Lanie is already on her way there. Let's see if you can dig into this a deeply as you seem to want to dig into things that you need to leave alone" not letting these two get away thinking she is not on to them

After handing the paper to Kevin, she points to the door indicating for them to leave "Close the door on your way out"

She returns her attention to the other paperwork on her desk. Once she hears the door latch clock closed, she reaches into her pocket and takes out the burner phone

To keep prying eyes from knowing who is in her call list she has given code names to the contacts. He code for her husband is 'Chase'. She thinks this is appropriate since he spent four years in the 'Chase' going after her before she let him have her heart.

She types a short message to him 'Boys are getting too close. I am pushing them away as best as I can'

A minute later 'K'

She erases the messages to make sure no one will ever see what is being sent. She places the phone back into her jacket pocket and returns her attention to her work knowing that the investigation into LockStat is happening in the background

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Richard Castle just closed the text from his wife and erasing any proof of its existence from his burner phone when the desk phone rings. Caller id just says 'Cavern'. The code name he gave his chief operative who offices at the travel agency as his cover

"Yes" Castle answers without further indication of who he is. The voice on the other end of the phone speaks in simple codes

"Action still open" meaning the information from Beckett is solid but he has no additional answers

"Retreat is progress" meaning he has arranged a get away for Kate and Rick

"72 Hours till closing" He has set up three days for them

"Product Shipped" Meaning the details are on their way to Rick's drop box

Castle hangs up the phone and walks out to the reception area of his PI business. "Wanda, I am going to lunch" he tells the older lady that he hired to be his first contact person for clients

She looks up thru her bifocal glasses "Yes Mr. Castle. Have a good lunch" and drops her head back down to the file on the desk that she seems so focused on at the moment

Outside the building, Castle turns his head both directions up and down the street looking like he is trying to decide exactly where he wants to go for lunch. He finally turns to the Pizza shop in the next block.

Once he enters the pizza emporium ha waits his turn to place an order. When it is his turn he selects an individual basil with sausage and extra cheese. After finishing the order, the clerk asks for his name.

"Rook, Jamison Rook" Rick responds.

The clerk enters the name in the computer and totals the order. Castle pays for the meal and goes over to a vacant high top table and waits for his food to arrive

While he waits for the pie to be prepared, he pulls out his phone and plays a game to kill time. Ten minutes later a pizza is brought to the table by a lovely lady. "Can I serve your first slice?" she asks holding a pie spatula

"I can do it, but thanks anyway" Rick mile to the server. She hands the serving item to him and walks away. Once she has left the area, Castle takes the first piece of pie and places it on his plate. .Beneath the pizza is an envelope wrapped in plastic protecting it from the food

Castle takes it and removes the contents from the plastic bag and places it into his coat pocket.

Rick finished the meal, drops a tip on the table and stands to leave. As he passes the counter the order taker looks at him "How was everything"

"Everything is perfect. Thank you" Castle responds and he exits the café

/\/\/\/\/\/\/

At her desk, Captain Beckett feels the phone in her pocket vibrate. She looks up and sees that there is no audience to observe her actions. She pulls the phone out and sees that the message is from 'Chase' sent to 'legs'

Ryan considers the name for her to be appropriate

'Trip on schedule. I will have something special just for you. See you Friday'

Just as she types the message back 'K so ready!' her desk phone rings. She pushes send then drops the burner phone on her desk and picks up the desk handset

"Captain Beckett" she listens intently "Really?" she obviously is concerned about the call coming in "Give me the address" she starts writing on a note pad on the desk, sliding her burner phone out of her way "Got it. I am on my way. No I am coming myself"

She hangs up on the call and opens her desk drawer, takes out her service weapon. Placing it on her hip she marches to her door. Once out in the bull pen she realizes only one detective is even on the floor. Quickly looking around Beckett call out "Karpowski, Grab LT and come with me. There is a report of an active shooter on Lex near Fist National"

The three officers get on the elevator and head out to the crime scene

It is only about ten minutes later the elevator opens and detectives Esposito and Ryan step off with a handcuffed suspect in between them. Esposito speaks to his partner "Go tell the boss we got the guy and I will start processing him"

"Cool" Ryan replies as he turns toward Captain Beckett's office. When he arrives at her desk he does not see her inside but he does notice a cell phone he does not recognize. He knows it is not department issue

Not sure who it belongs to, he opens the lid and looks first at the contact list. There is only the one name 'Chase'

He then looks for any text messages then discovers only the last one. The one that Beckett forgot to delete before she got called out. The message about the upcoming weekend trip for Friday

He decides to not tell Javi about the message. Esposito is always defending Kate and Kevin is positive that he will come up with some excuse for the message and the trip she is planning with this Chase guy.

Ryan carefully closes the phone and places it back on the desk where he found it.

Kevin Ryan returns to his desk and a few minutes later Esposito returns from the holding cells. "Was the captain here?"

Ryan looks at Beckett's office "No…no she is not here. One of the other uniforms said

That Beckett grabbed Karposwky and LT and ran out of here"

About that moment the elevator bell rings and Beckett and the other two officers are

walking slowly back onto the floor. They can overhear Beckett "The next time dispatch

needs to verify that there is a movie shoot happening before calling out the Calvary over

shots fired calls"

As everyone returns to their workstations Beckett walks over to her two team leaders

"Back so soon?"

"Yeah boss" Esposito answers "We arrested the suspect on scene. He was waiting in his

car outside. He says it was an accident"

"An accident?"

"It was an accident he stabbed his roommate 52 times"

She just shakes her head then walks back into her office. She closes the door, walks

around the desk and places her Glock into the drawer.

This is when she realizes that she left the burner phone on her desk. She picks it up then

looks out around the floor to see if anyone notices what she is doing. Thinking she is

safe, she drops it into her pocket then returns to her work

Out in the bullpen Kevin Ryan has paid particular attention to the actions of his captain

and he begins to think 'She IS having an affair'

* * *

 **I know this story began very dark and it is becoming lighter chapter by chapter.**

 **I just can't help myself**


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of her week went far too slow to suit her. She did not think Friday would ever arrive, but it is finally here and she is ready…so ready to go on a retreat with him, her husband, her man, like they did once before when he took her to the Hamptons for the very first time keeping it away from their friends. It's just this time it is for all of their safety, not just to keep things hidden from friends.

She finishes reviewing her files and re verifies all her e-mails are answered and the higher ups know she will be gone until Tuesday

She steps out to the bull pen and walks up beside Javier's desk "Hey guys, I am heading out. I will be back on Tuesday. If anything happens, I know you two can take care of anything that comes up, so I will see you Tuesday"

She turns to walk out when Ryan speaks up "What if we really need you. Where will you be?"

"You will not be needing me" she responds firmly

"But what if we do?" Ryan asks again

The hard questioning brings a look of wonderment from Esposito that does not go unnoticed by Captain Beckett

And she does seem concerned as to why Ryan is trying so hard to get information about her weekend "OK. I will have my phone on but it will be on silent, so if you absolutely must talk to me, send a message and when I have a chance, I will check my messages, but don't expect me to answer immediately. Understood?"

"So dispatch will have a way to contact you?"

"Yes. But please don't" She actually has more worries happening "Look guys. I am having a weekend spa getaway. Just my trying to deal with some things happening in my life right now, so please respect this. OK?"

Esposito answers first as he always defends her "Got it boss. We will take care of everything here. See you on Tuesday and have fun" he turns back to the files on his desk and goes back to work

She exits the floor and heads down to the garage to get her cruiser and head over to the airport where Castle arranged her to have a private plane take her to their planned destination

Within minutes of her departure from the precinct the elevator doors opens and off walks Richard Castle carrying a bundle of roses and what looks like a box of candy. He proudly marches toward the captain's office but as he turns the corner he sees the door is closed, the lights arte off and there is no one there. He turns back to the bull pen and the two other detectives.

When he arrives at Ryan's desk he comments "Have you seen Beckett?" he points at her door "the office is empty"

Esposito answers first "She left for the weekend. She said she is going on a spa retreat and for us to not bother her"

"But…I…uh…" Castle is holding the gifts he brought "Our anniversary is this weekend and I wanted to give these to her"

Javier Esposito stands up into Castle's face "You should have thought about that before you went out and banged some tramp on the street"

"Javi…man easy. I told you I have not been…"

Before Castle can finish his statement the fiery Hispanic detective is in his face "I think it is time you left this station and you need to find some other woman to cheat on like what you have done to that woman in there" he points toward the captain's office "The woman who loved you more than anything"

He pauses for effect "Do we understand each other?"

Castle seems to have taken Esposito's words to heart "Yeah. I get it" Castle drops the flowers and candy on top of Ryan's desk "you two might be able to use these" he turns and walks back out of the station

Once the elevator doors close Javier Esposito turns back to his partner "I hope he tries one more time to stick his nose in here. He may be bigger than me, but you know what they say…the bigger they are the harder they fall"

Ryan stays quiet for just a few moments then he speaks "Javi, there is something you need to know, follow me" and Ryan walks toward the privacy of the small conference room

Once inside the room and the door is closed, Ryan glances out to the bull pen to make sure there will be no interruption, then looks at his partner "Javi, Beckett is having an affair"

Someone could have just hit Esposito in the head with a hammer and he would not have noticed it. When he finally recovers from the statement of his partner "What do you mean, she is having an affair? And who told you that anyway, and what proof do you have?"

Ryan is still looking out to the floor "you remember the other day when Beckett went out on that shots fired call with Karposwky?"

"Yeah! The one that was a movie shoot?"

"Yes. That one. When you and I came back she was still out but we did not know where she was. I went into her office and saw a phone sitting on the desk…"

"You looked At Beckett's phone?"

"I didn't know it was her phone. It was a plain burner phone. Not department issue so I thought it might be evidence or something"

"OK so you looked at it. What does that prove?"

"There was a message between the owner of the phone and a guy named Chase planning on a weekend getaway for this weekend"

"So. That could still have been a suspect's phone"

"When she came back she seemed worried that the phone was still on the desk. She looked around then slipped the phone into her pocket"

Esposito looks out to the almost empty floor "And now Beckett is gone for the weekend…"

Ryan finishes the thought "And she did not want to talk about where she was going this weekend…"

Javi's thoughts drift to what he does not want to admit "And she insisted we leave her alone"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Just before she leaves her apartment, she takes out her department issue cell phone and sets up forwarding to send any messages to her burner phone. That way if the guys try to text her, it will appear to go thru but it will only forward to her burner phone. Then she turns off her department cell making its GPS inoperative. If the guys do try to track her it will only lead them to the street outside her apartment and not to the Teterborough Airport in Jersey where she is driving. But if she absolutely must contact them, she can turn it on and respond.

When she arrives in New Jersey she has pulled into the parking space designated and got out and locked her car. Moving to the trunk she opens the latch and pulls out her bag. It is not too large. Just large enough for three changes of clothes, an extra pair of shoes and extra underwear.

She deliberately packed only one night gown. The one she took the first time they went to the Hamptons together. Like before no one knew about them and now she is keeping the fact she is meeting Castle for a guilty liaison just like then but her plans do not include her wearing the night gown. But she calls it her emergency fire apparel. If the building burns she has something to cover up with as she escapes the burning building.

After she closes the trunk she spots her contact. She has been told to look for a man wearing a Texas Ranger Baseball cap but a NY Yankees shirt

She steps beside the man. No words are spoken. He takes her bag and rolls it to a waiting small passenger jet. He loads it on the plane helps her on board then closes the door

Kate smiles at the man "Thank you"

"Anything you and Rick need, I am glad to help with. I owe him big time"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After their shift ends both Ryan and Esposito do not even attempt to get up. They finally turn in their chairs and face one another

Esposito speaks first "I might have misjudged Castle and his motives"

"Javi we both seem to be wrong in this, but if Castle did go pick up a hooker on 7th avenue"

"He was pretty adamant that the last woman he went to bed with was Kate"

"Yeah he was" Ryan responds

Both men sit quiet then Esposito finally makes a suggestion "Let's ping Beckett's phone and see where she is?"

Ryan is having a small pang of guilt over looking at her phone "May be we should just let her private life stay private"

"Kevin, this whole split thing happening with her and Rick is affecting work. Let's just see if we can find where she is"

Ryan turns to his computer and issues a ping request for Beckett's phone

Kevin is not happy with the response "She turned the GPS off but it last answered it was still at her apartment

* * *

 **I do have to say that reading the blogs about the most recent episodes are not helping me write this but I will try my best**  
 **I stopped watching after 8x04**


	6. Chapter 6

The private jet lands at Martha's Vineyard. Kate is greeted by another man. This time she is picked up by private auto and driven out to almost the end of the island.

The car pulls up to the last driveway on a short cul-de-sac. The driver opens her door and helps her out of the car then he moves quickly to the trunk and retrieves her bag. After closing latch he assists her to the porch where he uses a key and releases the lock to the entry then holds his hand up for her to wait before entering the house

When the door opens he indicates for Beckett to wait for just a moment on the porch. Inside there is another man standing in the foyer who gives a silent nod to the driver. The two men step outside where the original escort turns to Beckett and sets her bag just inside the door

After handing her the key he was carrying he speaks "Mrs. Castle, I am on my way to pick up your husband. We should be back in about thirty minutes and if I don't get another opportunity to tell you, I hope you and Rick enjoy your weekend. I will return Monday to pick you and Mr. Castle up, but for now I need to go get him"

The man smiles at Kate then pulls the door closed as he exits the house

She shakes her head at the events that are happening around her right now. She actually has a slight feeling that she is actually having an affair and the man she is having it with has set up this secret rendezvous with her to keep it a secret from the world. At least keeping the secret from the world part is accurate.

The thoughts about the weekend actually have raised her desires for her husband even more than they already where and having to wait for him is not helping, even though she knows he will be here very soon.

She rolls her bag into the main part of the house where she drops it just behind the couch in the living room. Then she silently walks around the building to take her own personal and private tour.

The house is not as large as their Hamptons house but it is still very roomy. She walks out to the back patio and onto the lawn. He can see the ocean nearby. She can hear the sounds of the waves splashing on the shore and the sounds of the gulls as they fly over the water searching for their next meal

Returning into the house, she takes her bag and pulls it behind her taking it into the bedroom. Once more she finds the space welcoming and comfortable. She walks into the bathroom where there is a private water closet, two separate sinks for him and her and a roomy, large two person shower. She smiles when she sees the glass enclosed space thinking that she will definitely be making use of this several times over the course of this weekend

Returning to the bedroom she sets her bag on the bed and opens the top. She removes the clothes she brought and takes them into the closet and places them on hangers. The next items are her lingerie that she takes to the chest of drawers and puts them away. Finally she takes her cosmetics and sets them on the counter in the bathroom that is obviously made for a woman to use.

She closes the bag and takes it off the bed and slides it into the corner of the room, out of the way.

She walks back to the living room then into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator she finds it completely stocked with food for them. She takes a bottle of water out and begins to explore more of the house. As she moves from room to room taking in the elegance end beauty of the place.

She can't help but wonder who owns this house. Is it a rental that Castle located just for the weekend? She then wonders it is a time share he owns a part of and never told her about? Maybe it belongs to one of his writing buddies

She moves back toward the front of the building. It is at this moment she hears the sound of a car pulling into the gravel driveway. She looks out the window where a sight appears from the vehicle that makes her heart soar.

Her husband is here. He takes his bag from the trunk then turns and speaks a few words to the man who had driven her and now has brought her husband to her. She notices the two men seem very familiar with one another. They are both laughing and smiling in whatever conversation they are having. Before the driver leaves she sees something that she has never seen Castle do. He and this other man hug in what she know is a sign of very close friendship. A man hug

She watches as he pulls his bag to the front steps and she rushes back to the bedroom to wait for him

She hears the sound of the front door open and then close. The sound of a voice and its tone that she has craved to hear now for several weeks comes thru the house

"Hey, Love. Where are you?"

"In here babe" she responds while not moving from the bedroom.

She now hears the sound of his bag being pulled across the hardwood floors and then he appears at the door.

The smile that spreads across his face is something she is so happy to see

He drops his bag at the door and starts to move toward her when she raises her hand indicating for him to stop

He halts in his forward movement toward his wife "What's wrong"

"The last time we met like this, you made me take off all my clothes"

She walks toward the bedroom door then points him back to the bed. "Move over there!" she firmly says

He seems confused by her actions but he does as she directs

"Now, Mister. Take off YOUR clothes" and as he does, she follows removing hers as well

Once they are both undressed she rushes to him and wraps herself around him like there is no tomorrow for them

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The one thing you can say for Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito are they can be determined. Most of the time doing this is exactly what is needed for them to do their job properly.

But sometimes they snoop into things that are just best left alone

Today's activities definitely falls into the realm of something they need to stay away from. Only problem is they are not aware that it would be best for them to not get involved in Castle and Beckett's current relationship.

Esposito is sitting at his desk looking at his screen trying to decide on his next move. He is wanting so bad to dig deeper into the information that Ryan gave him earlier but at the same time he does not want to even consider the possibility that his boss, and long time friend, would cheat on the man that gave her life meaning and brought her out of her shell. The man she has shown total and complete love for. But every bit of information he has backs up Kevin's comment that an affair is most likely the basis for the situation today

Ryan spins around partly in his chair facing toward his partner "Javi, I know this is hard for you. It is hard for me to believe. I thought that they were a forever kind of couple. I defended Castle in…whatever…was happening. But I never thought THIS was the reason. I thought this breakup was something else. Not her having an affair"

Esposito does not even turn around "Just shut up Ryan." The anger in his voice was not directed at his partner but at the situation going on all around them

Fortunately for the sake of these two partners' friendship, the desk phone rings Kevin reaches and picks it up "Detective Ryan" he listens a few minutes then grabs a note pad from his desk "Give me all that again…"

After finishing the call he turns to Esposito "We got a bad on over on LEX. Some type of gang war. A lot of gunfire. Several people down"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A very satisfied Richard Castle is lying on his back with an equally satisfied wife on his shoulder. He is gently rubbing his hand up and down her spine and she seems to be enjoying his actions. He can almost believe that he can hear her purring

She feels his love for her just circling around them including his show of love by being in this situation with her all the way. Bad guys chasing them. A high ranking government official involved. Bracken was only a puppet. And now he is dead and they are in a house on Martha's Vineyard arranged by a very clandestine man.

She decides it might be a good time to ask some questions. She has always heard that the best way to get a man to talk is when he is naked in bed.

"Castle…can I ask you a question?"

"Of course" he responds without pause

"Who's house is this?"

He only pauses a fraction of a second "The government. It's a safe house"

Her head snaps up and her eyes lock to his "How did you pull off getting us into a government safe house?"

There is a longer pause in his answer "Years ago. In fact many, many years before I met you I did some things…some things that I could not talk about, even with my wife"

He rolls over on his side to face her nose to nose "But I have been able to get clearance to read you into some of it"

She can feel the tenseness in him. He is afraid that this might break them. He has kept this a secret from her and now he has to tell her everything that, up until now, he has been able to keep silent about due to underlying secrets

She looks at his lips then his eyes "Is this related to Sophia Turner?"

"Partly. She was my first CIA contact. After I followed her, I was contacted by the NSA"

She interrupts "The NSA? Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I did some…Um…things for them"

She pops up on her elbow "Have you ever killed anyone?"

"No. At least not that I know of. I may have brought information in that resulted in that, but, No. I never killed anyone"

"Is this where you got weapons training?"

"Yes"

"Just handguns?" she is beginning to wonder what skeletons her husband has buried under the loft

"Not qualified for anything larger than .45 cal. I had no need for the bigger stuff, but I did get to fire a 50 caliber. That was fun"

He hears a little chuckle from his wife "So, I'm married to a spy?"

He leans down to her lips and just before he kisses her "You want to do some cosplay? A little James Bond or would you prefer Matt Helm? I know…Derrick Storm"

She halts him before he connects "What did you do for them?"

"They found out about my speed reading. I was used as an analyst. They had me just go over some reports to make connections on some intelligence information"

"You were just an analyst? No field work?"

"No. Why?"

"The guy at the airport in Jersey. The driver, the guy guarding the house…and I saw you talking to the driver like you two had history"

Her turns and pulls his wife closer "Those guys were a strike team. They were out on a mission and I discovered information that indicated they walking into a trap."

"You saved their lives" Kate is proud of her husband

"Ever since then they felt like they owed me. I was just doing my j **ob"**

* * *

 **I always felt like Rick did something in his past that caused the kidnapping and his excellent shooting ability**


	7. Chapter 7

Detectives Ryan and Esposito arrive at the crime scene only to be met with more suits and uniformed federal officers than they were expecting.

These men do not belong to the NYPD or even the State of New York. The men here appear to all be federal. Probably directly from DC

As the two NYPD detectives attempt to cross the crime scene tape, they are halted by the first two men they encounter holding assault rifles

The closest man speaks to the two first "Sorry, this is a closed crime scene"

"We are NYPD homicide detectives" Esposito says as he is presenting his badge "We were called in. We understand there are several murder victims"

"This is a federal investigation" the unknown man states

Ryan raises the obvious question "What agency?"

"It is a federal investigation. Your chief has been advised and your services are not needed here. So you can leave" the man points off the scene then states firmly "NOW!"

The two detectives walk away from the immediate area and out of ear shot

"What is all that about?" Ryan asks first

"We heard nothing about this being a federal crime" Esposito finishes

Kevin Ryan takes out his cell phone and opens the contacts tab then his partner raises a question "What are you doing?"

"He said our chief knows about this. Let's find out"

The phone connects to the Chief of Detectives office "This is detective Kevin Ryan from the 12th precenct. We are at a shooting and were told by the feds we had to back off and…" he obviously is being given some information. Then he finally responds

"I understand…yes sir, we will leave this to them…yes sir, we will not discuss this"

Ryan hangs the phone up then looks over to his partner "That was very unusual"

"What was so unusual?" Esposito asks

"I was told to back off…and given specific instructions to pass a message to Captain Beckett telling her to NOT look into this or, quote "THERE WOULD BE TROUBLE DOWNTOWN end quote"

"Why would they even mention Beckett?" Javi wonders "She is not even here"

"Yeah. That is weird. I don't know why they told us to keep her away"

"You know, I think we need to go and do a little investigating into this on our own" Ryan adds and the duo begin walking back toward their cruiser.

Looking at the building one last time Esposito states "I don't remember ever coming here or getting a call from here. Do we even know who occupies this place?"

"No. I've never been here either" Tyan responds "When we get back. I am going to have dispatch send a message to Beckett and get her to call us back. Maybe she will know something we don't"

Once back in the station. Esposito places a call to communications and asks them to send the captain a message to call them back ASAP

Ryan goes into the tech room and begins a little research into the building where the shootings allegedly occurred. Initially he is not having any success in locating the tenant but after a little cross referencing using the city's utilities billing system the tenant records indicate the building's occupant is 'Global Consolidated Transfer'

He then checks the registration records and finds there is a long term lease in the same company name

Esposito steps in and is looking at the screen when he asks "What is Global Consolidated Transfer?"

"Well that is more of a problem. The Secretary of State has no record of a business registered by that name. We have utilities billed there and a lease paid on a yearly basis but nothing else"

Javi thinks for a minute "It could be a front"

"You mean like a drug laundering operation?"

"No. They would have a retail business that deals in cash so they can move money around without getting caught. This looks more like a covert shell business to cover up something like a black ops contractor"

"You mean, you think this was like that company Cole Maddox worked for?"

"Exactly" Javi answers

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Kate feels the love of her life turn over in the bed to pick up his phone from the night stand

"Hello" he listens for a few moments "OK, come on out. We will be waiting for you when you get here"

"Hey, babe, what's going on?" Kate reaches around her husband and pulls herself up to his side

"There has been an event in the city. An attack on a federal surveillance facility and our guys think it is Lockstat"

He can feel Kate tighten her grip on him "Are we in danger?"

"Not from this. We had no part of that unit. Jake wants to come out and give us some information about that and what they have found so far"

"So, we need to get dressed?"

Rick turns into Kate "He is just leaving Jersey. It will be about two hours before he arrives"

"So we still have some alone time before he gets here?"

"Yes. But I think I need a shower…" he puts on a silly grin "care to join me?"

"Absolutely?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The two detectives have spent a little more time looking at the records available in the computers but have not had a lot of success. Every road ends in a dead end. It appears any and all paths toward the building or its occupants leads down a long path that ends in a blank wall

Esposito looks up from his computer screen to his partner "Kev, have you heard back from Beckett?"

Detective Ryan looks at his cell phone "No. She has not responded to our message. I wonder if dispatch sent the message to her?"

Esposito picks up his phone and places another call to the communications center. After a short conversation with someone downtown he hangs up hiss phone

"What did they say?" Ryan asks

"They sent the message and it indicates that it went through"

"But she has not responded"

"I asked them to resend the request again"

"And if she doesn't respond?" Kevin wonders

"Then I am going to get worried"

"A building gets attacked and we are booted out"

"And we are warned to keep the captain away"

"And now she's missing?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

There is a knock at the front entry. Castle, followed by his wife, pulls open the door to find his specialist agent Jake Garrett standing outside carrying a file in his arm

"Hey Jake. Come in" Castle steps aside allowing the very stern appearing man to move into the living room

"Kate this is Jake" Rick points from his wife to the man

She reaches out with her hand "Good to meet you Jake" she says

He responds "I feel like I already know you Kate. Your husband has had us keeping an eye on you"

She looks up to Castle "Oh is that so?"

Rick speaks softly to her "I have to protect what I love the most"

She whispers back "Thank you"

Castle looks aback to Jake "What do you have?"

"There was an attack earlier in the city on a building that we believe is related to LockStat"

"The building is occupied by an intelligence gathering unit for the government. It was a data center occupied mostly by analysts"

Beckett looks at the agent "You mean a bunch of data researchers were attacked?"

"Yeah" Jake responds "There was two, four man teams. They broke in and went after every one inside. They also destroyed all the data storage units and were gone in less than 5 minutes"

Kate makes a statement "Not enough time for the NYPD to respond"

"Or anyone else for that matter" Castle adds

"And the building is off the main streets and no one even say the attack coming"

"Was everything destroyed?"

"In that building…yes. But I have contacts who have confirmed that this was one of several NOC's or network operating centers. The data kept there was mirrored in several other locations"

"Are they OK?"

"The government has kept it quiet but there was simutanious attacks at two other centers. They are very isolated and the media has not reported it"

"So all the data is gone" Beckett asks

Jake smiles "No. There is at least one other mirrored sites that was left untouched"

"Are we able to get information from…?" Castle starts to question

"Yes. We have an operative inside that has been able to push a backup to us and Rick…" Jake pauses in his statement

"What?"

"There is information about your kidnapping from your wedding"

Rick can feel Kate's arms tighten around his arm


	8. Chapter 8

"What information do you have about what happened to my husband, Jake?" Worrying about what happened to Castle, Kate is the one to ask the opening question

"We have information that Castle has been part of a secret CIA program having to do with mind control and memory management"

"What type of experimenting did they do on Rick?" She asks

"To understand all of this we need to go back over 50 years ago" he begins his explanation "There was a project that actually started during the Viet Nam war. It began with a CIA project investigating the effects of the use of hallucinogenic drugs and they started with the party drug of choice in the day, LSD"

"Are you saying Castle has been given LSD?" Kate is honestly becoming more worried about what might have been done to her husband. She knows from her police training that certain drugs including LSD have lasting effects in including flashbacks.

Jake responds quickly trying to alieve her fears "No. That program was only the beginning of the human testing. The CIA has been doing experiments for decades but only the 60's involved LSD. They later moved to other more designer type drugs and also other methods of memory management"

Castle has been sitting quietly but finally feels the need for information "Jake…what did you find out concerning what was done to me?"

"Yes, about that… You got involved with Sophia Turner doing early research for Derrick Storm, right?"

"Yes. I followed her for a year"

"She was a part of the program early on. It was one of her first assignments. To recruit subjects for the testing"

"Didn't they just seek volunteers from within the company or from military that were close to separation?" Beckett questions

Rick feels Kate's grip on his arm tighten again. He had known just how much Kate was jealous over this woman but he had hoped that over the recent years of him and Kate being together, that she has grown to know that she IS his one and only.

"She had the hots for you Rick" Kate speaks into his ear with a pained tone

"Did she?" he responds "Or was it all a fake memory planted by her and the rest of her team?"

Jake responds to that comment "It appears that she did have an interest in Rick. There are reports that she was reprimanded for having an improper relationship with a non-agent and that is why he was pulled into the memory control program. To control what he remembered"

"So was my memory of Sophia…false memories?" Castle asks

"Without all the detail of what you remember of that that time and what you have of your three months with Sophia, it is an impossible question to answer. It does appear the person who recruited you into the program was the agent we now know as Lockstat"

"Three months? I was with her for a year" Castle states as a fact

"The file only indicates you were with her for three months" Jake responds

Rick can feel Kate's grip tighten again and her head drops to his shoulder. Castle does recall her reaction when he first admitted to her that he had in fact slept with Sophia and Beckett's comment of 'The More The Merrier' filled with jealousy that he had not yet fully admitted to seeing on Kate's part concerning her suppressed feelings for Castle

"So my memories of Sophia is probably a fake memory"

"Evidently part of it is" Jake agrees "I believe it turned out she was a Soviet agent still in deep cover"

"Uh…yeah. She WAS. But she had been left out in the cold by the collapse of the USSR"

Jake continues in his briefing "She was probably using the information she had about the memory program to sell it to foreign powers"

Kate finally looks up from her position on Castle's shoulder "So is it possible that Rick really has done some horrible, terrible things?"

Castle looks into his wife's eyes and he believes he can see deep worry in her feelings

"Kate. I promise I have never done anything bad…I…I don't think I have" Castle looks back to Jake "Have I?"

"Rick. We honestly do not know…for sure. We have not found any evidence that you did any 'wet' work but we do believe you very confident that you did have had direct contact with Lockstat at some point"

The three sit quietly for a moment then Castle speaks up "Am I really Jason Bourne?"

"We don't think it went that deep but you were a part of a program like that"

After another pause Rick looks at his wife "Kate, you know my mother has acted differently every time we have tried to dig into my disappearance. She wanted us to just drop it"

"She did seem to push us away, didn't she?"

Jake interdicts "Your daughter was very young at the time. If you were off the grid for three months, Martha would have had to take care of Alexis during that time frame"

"That's right! If I were gone for that time mother would have to know. I need to ask her about that"

Jake continues in his information "Let's hold off on bringing her into this until we know more facts, but we probably will need to get a filler from her later"

Again there is silence in the room when Jake finally breaks the quiet "I will leave this file with you two. There is not really much else in here, but we are discovering more and more data every hour"

Jake stands, drops the folder on the table, and moves toward the door "You know how to reach me" and he exits the house

The Castles sit quietly for several minutes with Kate pulled up as closely to Rick as she can possible be. He can definitely feel the tension in her body. Tension that he does not ever remember her having before

"Kate…I have not done anything really bad. I promise. I could never hurt another human being unless I was in danger or…"

"Or what?"

"Someone I loved was in mortal danger"

"OK" her comments just seems to hang in the air

"Rick?"

"Yeah"

"They evidently planted false memories in you about Sophia. Memories that you and her were…"

"We were a couple or something. I don't know what is true or not anymore"

She slides her hand up his arm "What if they planted other memories…"

"Memories like my abduction? I think we can pretty much agree those are fake. I am pretty sure I did not go to Thailand and rescue someone from Al-Qaeda, but I have been in some level of danger"

"That's not what I'm talking about…"

He places his cheek on top of her head "Then what are you talking about, Kate?"

"What if they…what if they put a false memory that you…you loved me?"

Rick turns his head to Kate and pulls her head to face him "Katherine Beckett Castle, if anything, YOU pulled a Jedi mind trick on me and you made me fall in love with you. No outside force could do what you have done to my heart"

"So this is all real?"

"Very Real" he softly responds

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Has Beckett ever answered?" Ryan questions his partner

"Not yet" is the answer

"Do we need to have communications try again?"

"I don't think it will do any good" Esposito responds

"She is probably out with her paramour" Kevin comments almost under his breath

"That's enough Kevin. I concede that she's probably a big cause of this breakup"

"Sorry Javi. I am hurt as much as you are about them, but if there is something going on that she needs protection from, we really need to get a hold of her"

"I know this is probably not a good idea, but I can't believe Castle is totally in the dark about her…so why don't we contact him and see if he has any idea about where she is or who she is with"

"Espo! That is a really bad idea. He might just go all Jason Bourne on us and try to go after her and whoever she is with"

"OK. Then let's just pretend and ask if he knows where she might be"

"OK, but be really careful in what you say to him"

Esposito picks up his cell phone and dials Castle's number

After three rings it goes to voice mail

"Hey bro. It's Javi. Can you call me when you get this message? Thanks" He disconnects the call and puts his phone back on the counter

It is just a minute later when the device rings. The ID says "Castle"

"Hey man, what's going on?"

Rick responds "Fine. What's going on there?"

"Listen man. I…er I mean we were just wondering if you might know where Beckett is?"

"Why?" Rick asks with concern in his voice

"UH…well we have been trying to contact her about an event here in the city and her phone seems to be off and she is not calling us back"

"And you called me…because?"

"We were hoping you might have an idea where she might have gone. She said something about a spa retreat and we were hoping you might know where she would have gone"

"Sorry guys. I got nothing for you"

"Thanks Castle" Esposito responds then he thinks he needs to tell Castle about Beckett

"Listen bro. Can you come in to the station, Kevin and I need o talk to you about something"

"Sorry, Espo but I am not in town right now"

"Oh. OK When will you be back?"

"A couple of days. Why?"

"I just need to apologize to you about something I said to you. That's all"

Then Esposito hears a woman's voice off in the distance on the phone

"Rick. Who's on the phone?"

He can tell that Castle covered the mouthpiece muffling the voice so the Hispanic detective cannot tell who she is

"I got to go" Castle hangs up the phone

Esposito looks at the phone still in his hand and starts thinking about what he just heard.

"No other woman my ass! That dirty SOB" and he slams the instrument down on its cradle


	9. Chapter 9

Esposito is furious as he just stares at the telephone instrument as if he is trying to throw daggers thru the device to the man he was just speaking with

Kevin Ryan looks across the desk to his partner ""What happened?"

"Castle is out of town with some woman"

"How do you know he is with someone?"

"He told me he was not in town then I heard her. She was off in the distance. She asked Castle who was on the phone. He covered the phone to muffle her voice then he said he had to go and then hung up on me. He has gone off on Beckett now!" The anger in Esposito's voice is evident

"Javi, I don't think it is right to have an affair on your spouse but it appears that Beckett went out on him too"

"So that makes it all OK then?"

"No, of course not. It is never right to cheat but it looks like she might have done it first"

"No I think he did it first! That night at the Old Haunt, he said he needed relief and went out and picked up some street walker. That was probably when she figured out that he had gone back to his old ways and decided she was nothing but a good tumble for him and she found someone new"

"So what are you are saying? He had not really changed after all the things they have been through as partners? After following her for four years and then being together as a couple for three more? He just dumped her for someone else? I don't buy it"

Javi is sitting at his desk just stewing listening to Ryan defend Castle "Yeah. That is exactly what I am saying. He never needed her. He never wanted anything from her but to have sex with her. She was just not so easy for him though. She kicked him to the curb so many times she became a challenge for him. A challenge that he had to win. It was like a ten year old being given a dare. If you are ten and someone dares you to do something, you have to do it"

"Espo, I don't think that is what happened. Maybe she stepped out on him first. It appeared she moved out of the loft before he did anything"

Esposito pauses in his conversation "OK so what do we do?" the Hispanic detective asks

Ryan thinks for a minute "This Chase guy she is seeing. Where would they have met? Is he another cop or someone where she lives now?"

"She is living at an extended hotel in uptown. Maybe he is someone there?"

"OK. Then lets' go and see if there is a man named Chase living there…or maybe of he is another cop we can see just how many officers have the name Chase"

"OK Kevin. You start the search for cops and I am driving to her apartment"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Katherine Houghton Beckett-Castle is sitting on the couch holding a cup of coffee that her husband had just brought to her and is peering out the glass wall looking at the ocean just beyond the dock. He had gone into the home office and has connected to the network in the safe house to review his emails. This is a network that is secure and he can connect and not be back traced. He just wanted to pick up any emails he had and respond so as to not look like he is out of contact this weekend

After spending a very few minutes finishing his tasks, he has returned to the living room and has come to sit beside his wife. She still seems very distracted by the information they were just given about his back story

"Kate…" Rick speaks softly to her

Pursing her lips she also responds very quietly"Um?"

"I love you"

Her silence is deafening

"Kate…I love you"

"I love you too" she never diverts her eyes from the windows facing the ocean

He reaches out to her "Can you sound any less convincing?"

She never moves her head

"Please come here" he calmly says to her

Without another pause, she slides across the couch to join him against the armrest. Once he brings his arm around her, she finally relaxes against him as if being separated is not an option in her world right now

"Are you really that afraid I did something very horrible?"

"No…not that so much"

"Then what?"

"Back during that CIA case, when we were working with the CIA, you told me you slept with Sophia Turner and now we find out you might not have or did you?. Your memories have been altered"

"Are you still thinking my love for you is a planted memory?"

There is an ever so brief silence then she answers "Yeah. That maybe you are under mind control and at some point the control stops and you will just pack up and…"

"Do not finish that sentence. That will never happen, Kate"

"Can you be sure of that? You thought the memory of you rescuing your classmate from Al Qaeda was real too but it appears it may not have happened either"

"Kate. You know…even if my meeting you was arranged somehow by someone. And they hoped I would like you and you would like me…this" pointing between them "could not be arranged. This chemistry between us is real. The love I have for you is real. And when we get to the bottom of all this, we will laugh about how, no matter how much you tried to get rid of me the CIA made sure it didn't happen"

She leans into him then gently pokes him in the chest before settling comfortably into his side "Castle, can we go into town. I am getting a little cabin fever stuck in the house for so long"

"Sure. I will go put away the computer while you get ready"

"Will you get my phone too?"

"Your regular phone or the burner?"

"Burner. If I need to call, I don't need anyone to track me"

The couple grabs all the needed items and they head out to the car for a trip to town. When Castle hands her the phone she notices the device has no signal bars

"Hey, Rick…I have no signal"

"Must be the location. Maybe we will get signal when we get into town"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"So there is an officer Chase Bradley in Vice?" Ryan tells Esposito as they are walking out of the extended stay motel where Beckett has been keeping herself while split from Castle

"And they say he is single but just started dating someone else in the department, but they don't know who she is" Ryan continues his information

"I still don't think she stepped out first. I think Castle did something to bring all this on"

Ryan feels that his partner is determined to blame Rick for whatever is happening "Esposito, I think we need to act like real cops and wait to see where the evidence leads us"

Not wanting to admit to the possibility Beckett did something wrong he just nods his head

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Castle has pulled into a parking space just outside a small café in a small shopping district. They are trying to stay away from the main tourist areas so no not bring attention to their presence

Rick and Kate have stepped into the front of the small eating establishment and are waiting to be seated. He has made sure to not let go of his wife as they wait for the table

A waitress, who seems to be working alone today, moves briskly in seating the couple

"Here you go. What can I get you to drink" she says as she drops two menus on the table along with paper napkin wrapped silverware

"Just water for me" Kate answers

"Same here" Rick adds

They open the menu and find a nice selection of meals. By the time the waitress returns with the water, Rick and Kate have already decided on lunch

After the waitress takes the menus away leaving the couple alone, Rick reaches over to take Kate's hand again and wraps her fingers into his own

She looks at the connected hands and Castle can see a gentle smile turn her lips up

"We still have a lot of question that need to be answered" Rick says

"Yeah, we do" she responds just as she feels her burner phone vibrate. She takes the phone from her pocket and sees it now has full bars and several messages

She reaches out and takes the phone and retrieves the messages. After she listens to the calls, she tells Rick that Ryan and Esposito have left messages for her concerning the attack at the data center that Jake had briefed them about earlier

"I better call them back" she says as she begins dialing the number

"Be sure to not give any indication where we are"

She nods her head just as she hears the ring back tone telling her the call is going through

Detective Ryan answers his desk phone with the usual salutation "Ryan!"

"Hey Ryan, it's me"

"Captain Beckett, we have been trying to get a hold of you. Where are you?" Ryan speaks loud enough for his partner to know who is on the phone

"What is happening there?" she ignores his location question

"There has been an attack at a government building. We don't have information because the feds sent us away"

"OK the feds have the case. We don't need to get involved then. Let them take care of it"

"Kate they also told us to tell you to stay away. Specifically you, by name"

"Well since I'm not there, I am not involved"

"We just thought you might want to come see what is happening" Esposito comments

"I will…when I return" Kate is trying to get off the call and not let it slip to her guys what she knows about the case

Just at that moment the waitress returns with their meals "Here you go ma'am, a grilled chicken sandwich and for the gentleman a BLT with a side of coleslaw"

Kate realizes the woman's statement might have been heard by the two detectives

"Guys, I need to go. I will call you back later" She hangs up on the call

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The two New York detectives look across the desks toward each other "That answers my question about her "Ryan comments

Esposito sits with the obvious anger on his face "I want to find out more about this Chase Bradley guy"

He picks up his phone and dials a number

"Who are you calling: Ryan questions

"A clerk I know in the HR department. She can give me more information"

Ryan looks at his partner in disbelief, knowing if he finds out she is cheating, all it will do is make him more angry

The Irish detective returns his focus on the files on his desk. He can hear Javier talking to someone but has tried to not eavesdrop. So he opens a tracking application on his computer and begins a trace on the phone number that Kate used to call hum earlier. It indicates it was a cell phone and the system triangulates the location of the call to be somewhere on Martha's Vineyard

When the Hispanic detective hangs the phone up Ryan turns back to get the information from his partner

"This Chase guy is single, 38 years old. Tall and from what Jane said his personnel photo is ruggedly handsome"

"OK so what? That means she is with him?" Ryan is now defending his boss

"He has money. He comes from a well to do family in Boston so he is wealthy"

Ryan feels his emotions taking over "Did you say Boston?"

"Yeah…Why?"

"The phone call came from Martha's Vineyard"


	10. Chapter 10

On a dark street, well off the beaten path there is a building currently void of any occupants. In fact it is also void of windows and doors, as if it had a lot before the attack. But what few it did have are now covered by plywood panels. This is a building, that just yesterday, was full of equipment. Computers. Network connections. Racks filled with data storage devices and several employees tasked with assuring the heath of the systems and information being kept stored in the electronic library

Today, however, the building is almost completely empty. The employees are gone. The storage devices smashed into un-useable scrap metal and plastic. Component parts broken into tiny pieces. Wires ripped from their connections. Computers smashed beyond recognition

But more painful is the evidence of the carnage done to human life. The blood stains covering the floor in several places where once living men and women were employed now just memories of who they were

The premises has been declared off limits to the local police authorities but the woman currently walking across the door opening is not local. She has special access due to her level of employment high up the chain of government

Although she is older than most law enforcement investigators and field operatives, she is still very striking in her appearance. She exudes confidence along with her outer mature beauty. She carries herself confidently on long lean legs covered by slender cut jeans and ending in stiletto boots bringing her to well over 6 feet in height. There are probably a lot of men, even some younger, who would find her attractive

She has only been in the building a very few minutes when a man's deep baritone voice is heard above the outside traffic noises

"They always seem to leave a lot of carnage, don't they?"

She never outwardly reacts to the surprise visitor's voice "They do make a mess every time"

An equally tall and also older man appears from the shadows. "It's been a long time Rita"

"Too long Jackson" she responds without looking away from her, for lack of a better word, evidence gathering

"London? Or was it Marseilles?" he comments

"I think it was in Stockholm. I remember it was very cold and I almost froze to death before you finally shot Rene"

"He kept moving and I could not get a clean shot"

"I had tried just about everything to get him to stop long enough for you to target him" she remarks

"You did not have to strip down completely naked in your hotel room window just to distract him until I could get a good shot"

"I figured that I might just get him to stand still that way…anyway it worked. Didn't it?"

He walks up to the woman "Yes it did"

She smiles to the man "and not to mention, you seemed to enjoy it yourself once you got to my room"

"You have always been able to distract me Rita"

"So what are you doing here Jackson?"

"Trying to keep an eye on my family"

"Which one is snooping? Your son or your daughter-in-law?"

"Both actually. Kate had found some information and brought it to Castle from the LockStat research and now my son is digging into this using his connections with the team from Berlin"

With him referencing the name makes the woman react "That was a bad time for everyone involved"

"Yeah but at least Rick saved the team and allowed them to get out safe and bring back the intel they had gone in for. And for that Jake and the team have had his back ever since"

"And still do" she remarks

"Yes but what happened after that must have been really bad. I have been able to find out very little. I did find out he was taken to Bangkok and then everything went south. That team was decimated. All were killed. Rick was the only one that got out"

"So much taken from him at that time. He was hit hard by the losses. Not able to deal with it all"

Hunt finishes "That is when they wiped his memory and planted the story about Sophia. That way it explained his time away from home"

"It was for the best" Rita comments "He did not need to remember what actually happened"

After a pause she continues "Are we sure that he does not recall the operation?"

"I have interacted with him twice. He gave no indication that he remembers anything. But it appears his memory of Sophia is intact"

"What about his relationship with Beckett? Is their marriage good?"

"Everything is solid with them. I have never seen two people more in love than they are" Hunt comments

"Except us maybe?" Rita states as she steps beside Hunt "I bet you became very concerned when Rick disappeared on his wedding day"

"Yeah! I wanted to be here to see them get married and share in their happiness, but you know how our lives are" Jackson remarks "we don't get to pick our days off"

"No we can't" Rita agrees "but from what I heard he was kidnapped by someone in LockStat's inner circle who was also part of the original team that recruited Rick in the first place. So he felt comfortable when they took him"

Castle just thought he was safe…"

"…when in reality he was in mortal danger" Rita finishes the thought

The pair walks around the space for several more minutes reviewing the scene when the man speaks

"Did they finally get away for some downtime alone?"

"Oh yeah, but I just hope her two partners can leave them alone so they can have some married couple privacy. Those two guys tend to dig into anything that suits them good or not so good"

"Where did they go? Castle and Beckett, I mean"

"Jake Garrett set them up for a weekend at the safe house on Martha's Vineyard" Rita answers

Hunt nods his head "That should give them a little more private time without threat of danger"

"And in a lot cleaner place than that cheap motel they spent the night in last weekend"

"That was a low-end dump…wasn't it?"

"Sort of like some of the places you have taken me" she comments as she steps up closer to him again and takes a hold of his arm "So mister…would you like to go somewhere and see what a hundred dollars will get YOU?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

There is a knock on the front door of the house on Martha's Vineyards. Richard Castle. When he opens the door he finds his former Special Forces partner standing there

"Hey Jake. What are you doing here?"

"I have some more information for you" He holds up another file

Castle steps aside to allow the man to enter. Once he has entered the living room the man sits down in a chair across from the couch where Beckett is perched. Rick sits beside her and takes a hold of her hand

"What do you have Jake?"

"We are still data mining but we did back track to the time you were with us in Berlin"

No specific places had been mentioned before now and Rick can feel his wife tense in his embrace

"After the mission and the debrief, my team was sent back to Langley. You stayed at the CIA field office in Germany. You were then shuttled to Bangkok Thailand where you met up with a drug interdiction team"

Kate sits up a little with the mention of drugs

"The mission was to determine who was receiving the drugs from a cartel just outside the city. And just like before you were the analyst and were overseeing the intel that the team had gathered. But this time, something went terribly wrong. This team walked into a trap. The cartel knew they were coming"

"How…how did Rick get out then?" Kate has a frightened and nervous tone in her voice

"He was at the command post in radio contact with the team. When he heard the radio traffic. The shooting and then…"

Rick finishes "Then silence on the radio?"

"Yeah. You went back and were debriefed by the project manager"

"I don't remember that" Castle has a serious look of concern on his face

"You were sent back to the states and that is when…Uh…they erased your memories including the mission. The lost men. The drugs. Everything about this operation was removed"

"And they planted my relationship with Sophia Turner?"

"Exactly" Jake answers

Rick and Kate sit in silence for a few minutes then finally Rick speaks "What did I see or hear that they erased?"

Jake answers "We think you met LockStat"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Having finished dinner Castle and Beckett are now sitting on the love seat out on the back veranda of the house. They are sharing a bottle of wine that actually, Kate has drank very little of.

"You don't like my selection?" Rick asks while pointing to her still full glass"

"No. it's fine. I am just not in the mood tonight"

"If you are not in the mood for wine, maybe you ARE in the mood for something else. Something that does not require glasses or…anything else. Such as clothes"

This is when he sees her eyes are glassy and then a tear escapes down her cheek. He takes her glass from her and places both hers and his on the table

Taking a firm grip on her hand "Kate…are you OK?"

Wiping the errant tear from her face "Yeah…fine"

No you are not fine. Tell me what you are thinking that this new information connects me LockStat? Or that I am an assassin? What is it?"

"They did plant memories of Sophia. Months of memories. Almost a year of you two being…lovers. You thought it was real, didn't you?"

Her using that word tightens Castle's chest. "Yes, I have a dim memory of her and me but now looking back I can see where it might not be real"

"If that is not real then how are you so sure about us?"

"Kate, ask me about anything between our first meeting and today. If it is not real, then…"

She finishes the line "Then this is not real"

He pulls her tight to his side "Go ahead and ask"

She takes a deep breath "OK…the first case…"

"I worked with a Detective McNulty and he and I working together discovered the killer was Tisdale's son"

Kate reacts to his statement by sitting up straight. This is when she sees Rick's evil grin from ear to ear

"But what I DID was…I tried to flirt with you and pick you up from the moment you interrogated me. I told you that you have beautiful eyes"

She relaxes a little

"And I tried to take you out and that is when this all began" he points between them

"But I said no" she responds

"Exactly, and that is why I fell in love with Katherine Beckett"

She has changed her eyes from worry to shy. He loves her ability to show so much through her eyes

"And you do still have beautiful eyes. I enjoy looking into your soul thru them"

She curls back into his side, takes a deep breath then speaks "But I do want to talk about us…I have things I want you to know"

"Bad things?"

"Good things. Really good things"


	11. Chapter 11

The elevator bell rings and brings the attention of Detectives Ryan and Esposito as a tall man in a business suit walks briskly across the floor toward the office door of Captain Beckett. The man halts abruptly when he notices the door is closed and the light is off

"Where is Captain Beckett?" the man asks with no introduction or salutations

"Esposito, being closest responds "Who wants to know?"

"Special Agent Zachary Sutton"

Unmoved by the response both detectives are now standing in front of the man.

"Special Agent with what agency?" Ryan questions

"Attorney General's Office" the man is standing his ground

Not appreciating his attitude, Esposito asks "Can I see some identification?"

The man seems not moved by the challenge. He then brings out an ID folio and presents it to the two detectives

After looking at the documents, "what can we do for the Attorney General's office?" Esposito asks

"Where is the captain?" he again requests

"She is off for a few days. Is there something we can do for you?"

"Is there somewhere we can talk privately?"

The two detectives direct the man toward the conference room. After entering the room and closing the door Ryan points toward the table and chairs in the center of the room

"Have a seat"

The agent pulls out the chair and sits down "I am here on the direction of the Attorney General himself to discuss a matter with your captain. When will she be back?"

Esposito answers "We are not positive. She took a little down time. The weekend to be more specific"

"I need to talk to her immediately. How can I reach her?"

Not wanting to divulge more data to this man Ryan remarks "She is off grid at the moment"

"What about her husband then? How can I reach him?"

The two detectives look across to one another before Ryan answers "We are not positive, since he does not report to us, but we believe that he is not in town either"

"Did they go away for the weekend?"

"We are positive that they are not together" Javi comments

Ryan completes the thought "They are not exactly… on the same page at the moment"

The agent seems to contemplate the answer "I see! So they are separated?"

Again the detectives are not comfortable answering this man's questions

"Let's just say…it appears they are on a rough spot in the road"

The special agent sits for a brief moment "Well then I need to speak to the captain. How can I do that?"

The detectives are silent once more when the agent becomes more indignant "I need to speak to her now, gentlemen"

"To be perfectly honest with you, we are having trouble contacting her. We sent her a message and it was several hours before we heard back. So I am sure even if we gave you her contact information, it will not be very soon"

"If you will get me the data, I will make that determination"

Finally, Esposito presented the agent the number and the man gets up to leave but before he does, he again asks "This is very, very important. Are you sure that Mr. Castle and Mrs. Castle are not…together right now?"

"Ryan responds "Oh yes, positive. They are currently in a…time out. Why?"

"Let me say that she might be in danger if they are. That's all" and the man turn to leave the room heading toward the elevator

"Well that's interesting" Esposito comments

Ryan nod his head in response

As Agent Sutton approaches the elevator the door opens and a much shorter man exits onto the floor and begins heading toward the bull pen. As the two men approach each other it is obvious they have met before

"Agent Gray" the taller man comments

The shorter man responds "Agent Sutton…imagine seeing you here"

"Gray! Don't act surprised. You knew we would be following up on this"

"I just didn't know you would be assigned"

"You thought after I left the company that I would just take a desk job in Baltimore, put in my twenty, and pull the plug?"

"No, not really. I just imagined you be staying away from project Z. That's all"

"Is that what this is all about? I was understanding that that program was defunded and closed"

The shorter man shakes his head "I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation into this matter"

The taller agent tries to act like he does not fuller understand the current investigation "Is that what this is?"

"You know exactly what this is" Gray states as if everyone knows the facts

"Then will you do all of us a favor and just keep me informed? The AG's office cannot afford to lose any more experienced agents like McCord and her team. That was a devastating"

The shorter agent's expression never changes "See you around"

"Yeah. You too" as the taller man enters the elevator cab

When agent Gray enters the area of the desk he approaches Ryan and Esposito and talking like an old friend of Rick speaks up "Hey Detectives…I am Fred Gray. I used to work with Rick back before he was with Black Pawn. Do you know where I can find him?"

The two detectives are wondering why, all of a sudden, Castle and Beckett are so in demand

 **/\/\/\/\/\/\/\**

The evening on Martha's Vineyards is peaceful. The birds are flying over the water, the sun is setting on the mainland side away from their current place. Castle has finished putting away the dinner dishes while Kate is showering. Once she is finished in the shower, he takes his turn to clean up.

She is drying her long luscious hair, that he loves so very much, and he completes his cleansing

When he re-enters the living space he sees her standing in the door looking outside. The view he is blessed with is the one that he wishes he could capture in his mind like a high definition video image and keep it in storage to recall at a moment's notice anytime he needs to

She is standing in silhouette of the glass wearing his pajamas top. Her long legs exiting from the hem traveling for what seems like miles ending with her feet at the floor. One leg straight and the other at a sight angle with just her heel touching the other ankle, knee ben gracefully

Before he can even move toward her he simply has to marvel in what wonders have been brought to his life by this woman standing here so absolutely mesmerizingly beautiful

He walks up behind her and gently places his arms around her waist. Any worry he might have had about her desire for a conversation disappears when, with a sigh, she simply melts backwards into his arms holding his hands to her own. Her soft hair the only thing separating her head from his.

"I wish we could stay here like this forever" he comments

"It would be nice, wouldn't it?" is her agreed response "But there are bad guys out there wanting to cause damage to us and the rest of the world"

They stand here for several more minutes before she finally pulls away and turns to Rick. When she turns to face him with eyes simply screaming her love toward her husband she takes his hand and starts pulling him toward the couch

Once close to the love seat, she reaches out to turn off a table lamp. When she does she has to bend over to reach the switch. Being she is facing partly away from him, he is given a nice view of one of her many assets.

When she turns back toward him, it is very evident of where his eyes were facing

"Enjoying the view Mr. Castle?" she walks back beside her husband

"Always" he responds.

She directs him to sit down and as he does she joins him

His next comment catches her a little off guard "I am just hoping this conversation is not leading to me losing that privilege"

She has placed herself in such a way that still gives him a hope that all is well with them. She then takes his hands into both of hers

She takes in a long deep breath "Do you remember what you said to me the day you proposed?"

"Most of it. I was petrified that I might have already lost you then"

"You said that you had to scratch and claw because I don't let people in…"

"Kate I…uh"

"Let me finish" She squeezes his hand tightly "You were right about that. In all of my life, I never wanted to let anyone in because there was no one I wanted to know me that way" there is a moment of silence. "No one was going to be allowed to peel off all of the Beckett onion. That is until you came along"

Rick is trying to let her off the hook for whatever she thinks she needs to do "I know you Kate and how close to the hip you have always kept your feelings…"

"That is the purpose of this conversation" She remarks "I want to make sure that you know just how important you are to me"

"OK"

"Rick…our friendship…our relationship is THE most important thing in my life. You are an amazing man and I love you with all of my heart"

Being worried that there might be something else going on in her mind "Kate, it there something you need to tell me? Is something bad going to happen? What?"

"No. Nothing is happening. I just got to thinking about us…how we came to be here and after all the ups and down roads we traveled, I have never told you to your face how much all this means to me. How important this is"

"WOW" Castle is taken back by her openness tonight "

"Since we are being open I guess I need to tell you a few things too about what this is to me"

"You mean I am more than just a quick tumble like the other night at the no-tell motel?"

He looks off like he is thinking about that "That was way more than a quick tumble. In fact it WAS pretty good"

She pokes him "PRETTY GOOD?"

"OK…Really good?"

"You better remember that night well because it might just be your last" she chides him

Castle pulls her closer then she continues "After I found out about my team from the AG's office being murdered and the attack on me I got to thinking about how little we have talked about…this. Us! I have not openly told you how I feel. I have kept all my feelings pent up inside myself"

"Kate" castle interrupts her "you have shown me more love in the short period of time we have known each other than from all others in all the years I lived before"

She lays her head down on his chest "And you have to me as well. More than I felt like I deserved after all the pushing away I did to you early on"

"I know Kate, but honestly I probably deserved being pushed away"

"Yeah, probably" she chides him again

A few moments of silence are finally broken when he asks "Tell me something…"

"Hum?"

"I have often wondered Kate. When did you realize we, you and me, might have a chance?'

She thinks for a very few seconds "The Nikki Heat release party"

"Really?"

"I was faced with loosing you as a friend and confidant. You had already shown me you could help me with cases and you are a loving and caring man. The type man I never honestly thought was inside that outward shell"

"But we fought that night. You acted like you wanted me to move on"

She slides a finger across his chest "Do you remember my comments about pulling pigtails?"

"Oh yes" he almost chuckles "Is that what you and I were. Two school yard crushes pushing each other's buttons?"

"Do I really have to answer that?"

"Not really"

Rick squeezes her softly "Kate?"

"It was that way for me too"

"Castle, you were the playboy having every woman you wanted. Why the cat and mouse with me?"

"I think I really fell in love with you way back then too. But I was afraid of losing something I had never had before"

"I guess we should have had this talk a long time ago? We would have started long before we did"

"Would it have been as amazing if we had?"

"Probably not. But Kate you were right. It helps sometime to hear the words and not just the motions"

She looks over at her husband, stands, takes his hand, pulls him to ta standing position, and begins pulling him toward the bedroom

As they move through the main part of the house, she turns off lights, then stops just before the bedroom door. And turns back to him "did you lock up the doors?"

"All secure" he answers

"Good" she says then begins to pull Rick into the room

Once inside Kate pulls back the covers and directs her husband to lay down. She then pulls herself under the covers and lays her head on her arm so that she is looking at him

"But I also love the ACTION part and I plan to spend the rest of our get way involved in the actions, if you don't mind"

* * *

 **OH!**

 **A lot of love**

 **and**

 **A little Angst for our couple?**


	12. Chapter 12

Monday morning breaks with the sun trying to sneak its way through the clouds and work its way around the tall buildings of Manhattan. Inside the 12th precinct in Manhattan are the officers tasked with the task of protecting the island and the city from the murderers

Faced with this chain of murders and dead bodies Detectives Ryan and Esposito are working their way down the stack of files and paperwork that has accumulated on their in-boxes, wishing their boss were there and hoping she would be doing her best to clear the files from the floor and get them downtown or prosecution, but the morning is moving as slow as honey on a cold day for these two men

There is an inbound ring on Captain Beckett's telephone bringing the two men out of the drudgery of the endless files. The system is set up for anyone on the floor to be able to answer any inbound call especially a call directed to the boss

Kevin Ryan picks up on one such inbound ringing call "Captain Beckett's office, Detective Ryan speaking" then he listens for several minutes

"No, the Captain is off today. She will be back tomorrow" _~pause~_ "No I do not have a way to contact her today" "No, as I said, she is off today, who is calling?" _~pause~_ "Well, Detective Adams, she is off until tomorrow. What can I do for you?"

Ryan listens as the officer on the other end of the phone describes some event that causes Ryan to react

Esposito notices his partner sits straight up in his chair as if something said bitten him in the backside

"I see, Detective Adams…how can we help you here?"

Again a _~pause~_ "OK so how many were attacked before this last one?" _~pause~_ "OK. Since there is now a homicide, my partner and I will be down there as soon as we can"

Ryan hangs up on the call then turns to Esposito "The vice unit at the 54th has got a bunch of hookers that have been beaten up on the street and now one has been murdered and they are needing our help"

As the two detectives stand and move toward the elevator, the Hispanic detective asks the obvious question "Who was murdered?"

"One of the street walkers. A Russian girl. Adams said that she is one of the newest to arrive and he said she probably has not even turned a dozen tricks yet but they singled her out and took her somewhere and then after torturing her she was murdered"

The two homicide detectives arrive at the 54th precinct and go to the second floor looking for the vice unit and Detective Adams

"I'm Adams" the taller and older detective greets the two men from the 12th

He introduces the other members of his team, Detectives Lorie Yates and Russ Peavy. Yates is a very attractive woman and Peavy is a much older detective looking like he is ready to put in his papers and retire at any moment

"I am Kevin Ryan and this is my partner Javier Esposito" the Irish detective introduces themselves to the vice unit "What do you have?" The visiting detectives are looking at a board not unlike the murder board they use at their station

Adams points to the white dry-erase board and several photographs attached "We have had several reports of street walkers being taken and beaten up. The rest of the women are not talking but we think it is some type tuff war between competing pimps"

Yates continues "But no one is talking and I mean no one. In fact this one feels very weird"

"How is that" Esposito questions

""When we say no one is talking… we mean not anyone. Usually we can get some of the street people to give us something…anything, but everyone seems scared and silent on this"

Peavy walks up to the board "usually we have the pimps on the street showing strength but right now them and the women are staying away"

Ryan looks confused "Tell us what do you have on this murder"

Adams fills in on the case "This victim…we don't even have her real name…we are calling her Lola, was found beaten in an alley off 10th"

"What do you know about her?" Esposito starts taking notes

"She is new to the city. She is from eastern Europe. We are thinking Russia. There seems to be a penchant for foreign accents among the Johns. This victim and the other women who were beaten up had a couple of things in common. We are wondering if this is the connection between them?"

"What things in common?" Esposito questions

Adams responds "They are all very tall, close to 5ft, 10 to 11 inches before heels, that of course, they wear. They were very slender, blonde hair. Probably fake"

"How many were assaulted?" Ryan asks

"we have had six so far. I think this last one just was not tough enough to survive the beating she took" Yates answers

Esposito is looking heard at the board. He notices a photograph of a group of women talking to a man in a car. They are mostly in shadow "What is this?" pointing at the image

Peavy responds "That was taken a little over a week ago. It was a new John. We had not seen him before. That group of women is Trixie's . She is kind of a wild card out there. No pimp. She seems to run her own crew"

"Who is the man and why do you have this picture posted?"

"We don't know. This is another missing woman. That night was the first time we ever saw her and the last. He picked her up and took her with him. We didn't have enough officers to follow them, but at the time, we did not know there was a problem in the works"

Adams continues in his reporting "We are worried that this might just have been the first abduction of a hooker. We think this guy is the primary suspect. We think he is crazy. At least the rest were just beaten up and not killed. But none of them will talk. It's crazy out there right now"

"Too bad you only have a dark photo of this guy" Ryan comments "we might have been able to recognize a voice or mannerisms"

"Peavy walks to the desk and opens a file on the computer "Actually we do. It is grainy and the audio is not the best, but we did have a parabolic microphone setup. It picked up her voice real well, but not them John's"

The five detectives listen to the negotiations for services between the obviously European accented woman and the voice of a native New Yorker discussing prices and services to be rendered.

The woman seem to not totally understand the questions from the driver of the car. After several exchanges they seem to come to an agreement

When the driver of the car pushes open the passenger door, his voice becomes more clearly understood

"I love the accent. Get in"

This is when the two homicide detectives are taken back by a voice they definitely recognize

RICHARD CASTLE

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The two homicide detectives have returned to their home precinct. They have done something they never, ever thought about before, and that was to pull detailed history on one Richard Castle, AKA Richard Rogers.

Up until now, they thought that he had been totally open and honest with the team but based on the recent events he just might not be the man they thought he was. His actions in recent weeks has been suspect but no one…no one thought he could be this evil

Ryan is on the phone to a technical support technician in the communications unit "No. We cannot reach her, we were hoping you had a way to connect based on the last call we got"

Ryan listens then, in a huff, slams the phone down

"What did he say?" Esposito questions

"He said the phone was a burner and since it was off before she called and it is off again, they cannot even come close to where it might be…Javi, you don't think Kate is in danger do you?"

"And we can't find Castle either. We need to do something Kevin" Esposito is obviously worried about their boss

"I don't know. If Castle has gone rogue on us he might do anything. And since him and Beckett are split this could get really bad. He might try to take out his anger by hurting her"

Esposito thinks for a moment then comments "That Friday night that he said he was going to get him some from the street"

Ryan follows up "Are we sure that that was the night of the video?"

Esposito cannot help but comment "That DIRTY DOG"

"Javi, wait! It doesn't mean it was Castle" Ryan is still trying to defend his friend

"Listen Ryan I told you he was no good and this just proves it. I mean what if they know it was him over in vice?"

"He sounded like Castle but the car was a rental and the car company was no help getting driver's information"

Ryan starts thinking out loud "They said there has been a war against Russian hookers over the last week. A bunch of them have been kicked around and beat up. There seems to be an attack against them specifically. Why would Castle do that?"

* * *

 **OH MY!**


	13. Chapter 13

Richard Castle is moving around the bedroom of the safe house where he and his wife just spent the last three days for a little down time. He is packing his shaving kit, putting away all the small items that you never think about while you are at home in your own bathroom.

All the little things that you need for daily life

Shaving cream. Razor. Deodorant, Toothbrush and your own preferred tooth paste. Hair brush, comb. Hair spray, after shave. Dental floss. Nail trimmers. Emery board

As he nears completion he feels her presence. He has become connected to her in so many levels, this just being one of them. Looking in the mirror he sees the love of his life as she steps to the counter to store away her own personal items.

But instead of her beginning to pack away her bag, however, she steps up behind her man and wraps her arms around him. He feels her head as she lays it down on his back and holds on tightly

He can hear her muffled comments "I wish we didn't have to go home today"

He runs his hand over the back of her arm "Me too"

"This weekend went way too fast"

He rotates in her embrace "especially after we had that little conversation the other night"

She then lays her head on his chest "and the weekend went from talking about things to acting about things"

As he places his chin on top of her head "well, the talking may have stopped but the sounds didn't"

He feels a soft poke on his chest "It did get a little loud…didn't it?"

"A LITTLE loud" he remarks "It's a good thing we are on an island away from everyone else or someone would have called the riot police to come find out who was being tortured"

"It was nice punishment though, Mr. Castle"

The weekend activities of these two had gone from one extreme to another. They went all the way from two tsunamis crashing into one another pent on wreaking havoc on anything in its way, then over to a rapidly rushing river breaking at the rapids, then to the most gentle ripple in a brook cascading over a gentle waterfall as they shared themselves with one another.

Her softly spoken "shut-up is the final word on the subject

They stand quietly then she straightens up and begins to pack away her items.

Just as she finishes, Rick turns his face to his love and gives her another kiss "We WILL do this again…and again…and again…"

A sweet smile leaves her face and they turn to exit and go wait for the car to come and return them to the city.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Back in New York, things are traveling very differently. Ryan and Esposito have decided to be prepared for the captain's return. She does not need to be assaulted by other officers and especially not the vice unit from the 54th.

"OK Ryan" Esposito starts up "We keep thing in house. No one else needs to deal with Castle. I think we need to bring him in and question him and his actions. Beckett does not need to have to confront the guy"

Ryan being the ever hopeful friend has finally decided that all is probably lost for the couple "Alright. We can have uniforms set up on the loft and notify us when he shows up"

"Got it" Espo responds

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Town Car pulls into the driveway and the driver gets out. Castle is the first to speak "Hey Jake. You're timing is perfect"

"We need to go back inside for a minute" and the security man point to toward the entry door

Once the trio are back inside the house, Castle is obviously the first to question "What's going on?"

"There is something going on in the city and we think it is related to you two"

"What?" Beckett asks

"There has been an attack happening around the ladies of the evening downtown"

"What do you mean?" Rick asks

"There have been several women beaten up and one killed…murdered on the street. All prostitutes"

Castle is concerned for his contact, Trixie "What about Trixie? Is she one of them?"

"No. She has vanished, however. We think she has done to ground. But this seems to be a specific attack directed at the Russian prostitutes"

Kate takes a hold of Rick's arm "I pretended to be a Russian"

"That's why I am here Kate. There has been a surge of activity revolving around a quasi-military team that hit the street just after I started looking into that data you gave Castle after you two met up last weekend" he looks at Beckett

"Do you think we set off some alarms somewhere?" she asks

"I think so…yes"

"Tell us about this woman's murder?" Rick questions

"There have been eight Russian or East European women beaten up this week and one was murdered. The word on the street is they all looked like you did that night. Tall, slender, fake blond hair and, of course, skimpy clothes"

"That is exactly the way I was dressed" Beckett states

Jake nods his head in agreement "The women who were beaten up were tortured looking to see what information we have on them"

"So what do we do now?" Kate asks of the special operations man

"We continue with the plan. If we deviate it will all fall apart. We have to find LockStat and take him down"

Kate is holding onto her husband "But a woman was murdered. Several were assaulted…we need to move fast"

"Agreed" Jake says "So for now, let's go back to the city and get ready to drop the hammer on this case"

"NO" Castle speaks firmly

Kate and Jake both look over to Castle

"No what?" Jake asks

"We are done hiding. We are done running around. We are going to have to attack this head on. We have women beat up and killed over this. We cannot let that continue. Take Beckett and me back home…OUR home. The loft and we will go on the offensive with all of what we have"

"Are you sure Rick?" Kate asks her husband

"Positive. We need to finish this and not let anyone else get hurt or killed in the process"

"How close are we anyway?" Beckett asks of Jake

"We just need to pin down a couple of minor details…but Rick..." The man looks at Castle "we have found out who is involved. It has to do with someone from your past"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The desk phone rings at Javier's desk. He answers the call "12th precinct. Detective Esposito" he listens "Yes Detective Bradley. My partner, Kevin Ryan and I were there earlier. We met with your team. No we have not discovered and new evidence on the cases…yet" the Hispanic detective is careful in answering the questions not wanting to disclose how much knowledge they have on a possible suspect in the beatings and murders "Great. We can come there by and go over the new information"

He hangs the phone up and turns to tell Ryan "Detective Bradley over in vice says he has some new evidence to go over with us. I told him we are on our way"

The two men head toward the elevator

When Ryan and Esposito arrive at the 54th precinct they return to the second floor but this time looking for a Detective Bradley. When the walk up to the row of desks, they see a new detective that was not here before. When he hears Ryan and Esposito approaching he stands and walks toward the pair. He is over six foot, dark hair with a tanned complexion

"Hey guys, I am Chase Bradley…sorry I was not here earlier when you came by, I was in Boston taking care of personal matter at my family's place"

Ryan looks at his partner and Esposito has obviously picked up on the first name, the Boston connection, and the fact he was there at the same time Beckett was gone

"So, you have some family in Boston?" Ryan asks

"Yeah. I know it sounds cheesy. My family has money but I am a cop in New York. But you see, I like what I do. I feel like I am accomplishing something. Taking bad guys off the street.

"Oh, I see" Kevin comments "So, do you come here to slum between fancy political dinners and wine tastings?"

"No. I have to say that I truly enjoy being here with my co workers"

Esposito decides to try to dig just a little deeper "Does that include dating?"

The man seems truly surprised at the question "What do you mean?"

"You know. It seems we usually end up dating someone in the department even when the rules say no…especially when it comes to rank"

The man looks around then smiles just a little "Well, don't say anything but, about 4 months ago I started dating another officer. In fact she was with me this weekend"

"Ryan looks at Esposito "Your secret's safe with us…so what new information do you have on the case?"

"I interviewed several of the street people and they are telling me that there is some type of war happening"

"A turf war?" Ryan asks

"Seems more than that. The word is there is a large build up of soldiers from all the crime families"

"That sounds bad" Espo comments

"Except they are meeting together. Like they are planning a war against an outsider"

"What outsider?"

"We don't know. It looks like someone new has shown up on the street. Someone very dangerous"

After taking notes and forwarding copies of reports to their own machines, the two men from the 12th head off the floor to return to their own station to work

On the way out of the building Ryan looks over at Esposito and both are thinking this new threat is probably Castle

"This Chase guy has been dating Beckett for how many months?" Ryan asks

"I know. I heard him! It does sound like she started up with him long before she left Castle" Esposito agrees begrudgingly

"So that is why this is happening. I understand him now"

"But that does not make what he is doing right. We have to put a stop to this now" Esposito comments

"As soon as Castle comes home we will go pick him up and put an end to this"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

On the way home from the airport, Kate stops off at the extended stay motel she has been occupying to pick up as much of her things as they can carry before returning to the loft.

When they pull into the lower level garage the driver tell them that the loft is secure for Kate's return home

When the driver uses the word home, Kate leans into Castle's side and whispers "Home. I am finally coming home"

They arrive and unload the bags as the driver tell them that he will be just outside the building.

Castle thanks the man and he and Kate get on the elevator to return to the loft where they belong

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ryan's cell phone rings and he answers the call from the uniformed officer stationed outside the loft. The word passed is that no one was seen anyone enter the building yet the lights are now on inside to unit.

Ryan and Esposito head over to the building to confront the suspect

A loud knock on the door brings Richard Castle out of the bedroom. As he passes the doorway toward the living room, he turns back to his wife. I'll get it"

Pulling the door open he is surprised to come face to face with the two homicide detectives

Smiling Castle motions for them to enter "Come in guys…to what do I owe this honor?"

The men are facing Castle with their backs to the bedroom door

"Richard Castle, I need to read you your rights" and Detective Esposito starts the sing song of reading the Miranda

"Guys. I know my rights. What is this about?"

"You are a person of interest in the disappearance of a prostitute and the assault and possible murder of another"

The two men have not seen their boss as she appears from the bedroom door but are shocked to hear her voice

"What are you saying guys? I can tell you that Castle has not killed anyone"

The two men spin quickly around "Captain. What are you doing here? It is not safe to be here with him" pointing at Castle

She walks up to her husband and puts her arms around him "How am I not safe with the love of my life?"

"Beckett, he was seen picking up a hooker and she has disappeared…and you…you are…"

"I am what?" she asks

"You were with another man this…this weekend"

The two detectives are totally flustered

Kate motions for the detectives to sit down "Rick and I have some things we need to tell you two"

* * *

 **I thought it was time to let these two off the hook**


	14. Chapter 14

Pointing again toward the couch, Richard Castle speaks to the two men "Guys, please have a seat, there is a lot of information Kate and I need to give you"

The detectives slowly lower themselves to the couch and are showing their confusion as they watch Rick and Kate never moving very far apart from each other also place themselves down on the seating.

Once everyone is comfortable on the divan, along with Castle and Beckett almost in each other's lap, Rick looks at his wife as if asking if she wants to start. She nods toward him indicating for him to go ahead and to begin with the discussion

He takes in a deep breath then starts "After Alison Hyde was killed, we, Kate and I, determined that there is more going on that it appears. Another agent with a different agency in the government contacted Kate and confirmed that there is a rogue officer running drugs using their connections in the CIA. Using military trained connections and back line transportation"

"Wait. Didn't Alison commit suicide?" Ryan questions

"It was a false set up" Beckett answers "to get us to stop looking into the case of my murdered former fellow agents from DC. She was a scapegoat"

"So, who is this new guy?" Esposito adds to the pool of questions building "and why are you chasing him anyway?"

Rick answers "He was either Bracken's partner and drug supplier for his very own private drug cartel or…"

Beckett finishes "Bracken's boss"

The detectives are clearly in shock with this information

"Bracken was NOT in charge?"

"Evidently not" Kate answers

"Is this also connected to Vulcan Simmons?" Esposito asks

"Oh yes" Beckett responds "they have a very large syndicate going and Simmons was one of the branches. In fact he was probably the main arm of the group"

There is a long moment of silence as the two detectives consider this information.

Finally Esposito chooses to speak. It is still evident that the Hispanic detective has concerns about Castle and what happened with them "Look…you told Kevin and me that you were going to pick up a…" he looks at Kate and is trying to be careful in what he says next "lady of the night and in fact you did. You were caught picking up a hooker in 7th avenue"

Kate chuckles, then using her best eastern European accent "You mean the tall blond Russian that he paid a hundred dollars for a night on the town?"

The pair of detectives are stunned by B **eckett's** words

"UH…? Yeah" Esposito remarks "That was…?"

"That was me" Kate admits "Rick and I had not been alone together for several weeks and we wanted to make sure neither one of us was followed and by doing this, it was also a little naughty" and she smiles at her husband

Castle leans into her ear and soft enough that the other two do not pick up on his statement "No, it was a LOT naughty" causing her to smile back at him

Ryan brings up a question "We saw a video captured by vice and you did pay for the services"

"I gave that to Trixie for her trouble"

Kate continues "She was a lot of help setting that up for us. But we understand that she has disappeared"

"Along with a lot of the other street walkers" Esposito adds

"We have been told that there is a turf war brewing" Ryan comments

"That is confirmed by my sources" Castle responds

After another pause Javi starts back up "Listen, Castle…I…uh…I thought you two were…"

Castle lets him off the hook by answering the unasked question. "Separated? That was the plan actually and you two fell right into our little trap"

Kate adds "We had determined that this new leader has a mole in the department, somewhere and we had to do what we did to throw them off"

Ryan, who has been sitting here quietly for a few minutes is pleased that his faith in Richard Castle was not without merit "so all this break up and running around was a…"

"A ruse?" Kate states as she holds Rick's hands even tighter "Oh yeah"

Esposito is looking like he is angry about something "So you thought it was one of us?"

Kate answers "No Javi, but we had to make everyone believe we were on the outs with each other so if we fell into something the other one would still be safe"

"Castle continues "We are sorry but we could not let you two in because you are too good of friends to Kate and me and it would have been too easy for someone to see through that friendship if you knew in the beginning"

Ryan tries to poke a little at his partner while looking at Castle "well I want you to know that I never lost faith in you bro. I knew you would never cheat on Beckett"

Javier is a little embarrassed by his own actions "Well, you did have me thinking you stepped out on her"

Kate looks at her two friends and fellow officers "That was the plan from the beginning. We wanted the rumor to be that we are having marital problems and the best way was for you two to help spread that rumor since everyone else knew you two would be the closest to us"

"What about Chase?" Javier asks

Kate has a questioning look on her face "Who is Chase?"

"Chase. The name you had in your phone that was sending you texts about hooking up with him"

Her laugh is unmistakable "Chase is the code name I gave for Rick. He 'chased' me for four years. Why?"

"There is a Detective we met in vice. His name is Chase and he was in Boston last weekend with his girlfriend and you were…"

"In Martha's vineyard" Castle finishes "with me"

Esposito decides to move the conversation away from his error in thinking "So…what else to we need to know now that this charade is over"

Rick continues the fill the detectives in on the story "The mole would be reporting that we are fighting. At the same time we are researching and the mole's trail leads us to the top and exposes the spy at the same time"

"But there is something you two need to know about Rick "Kate pulls her husband even tighter to her side "Rick was a spy at one time"

This leaves the two detective more stunned than either thought was possible

"How…what…? What did you do?" Ryan asks looking at Castle

Kate answers "Rick was recruited just after Alexis was born. Hew was an analyst. They used him pretty much like we used him. He looked at the evidence and built a story. During one of his missions, he save the entire team from a trap"

"A CIA connection? Being a former special Operations soldier, Javier know what that would mean "You have a team that backs you up now, don't you?"

"Oh yeah. I do. In fact they are outside the building right now watching this meeting carefully"

Kate takes a dep breath before adding information "We also think that Rick's disappearance is somehow related to all this but have not yet made that connection"

Esposito looks at the pair "Castle. I am sorry. I had it in for you after you disappeared. UI thought you did this on your own. Maybe got cold feet"

"Javi, I promise you that the last thing I wanted was for that to happen" He looks at his wife "I wanted nothing else than to make this woman my wife. Nothing else mattered"

"So what is happening now?" Ryan asks

"Castle and I know you two are not with LockStat, but we are always on the alert for the mole" Beckett comments

"Then we need to help you and them find him" Ryan comments somewhat loud as if trying to make sure he is heard outside

"How….what other information do you have?" Esposito finally asks

Kate continues "There was, or rather is a drug cartel working inside the agency. It was being operated by Bracken and Simmons, but after we took them all down, the big boss had to take over, and had to do it quickly"

Rick continues "He or she did not have the benefit of training a new leader for the group and bringing them up through the ranks. So they had to run it themselves"

Esposito's cell phone rings, then immediately Ryan's also busses. This is followed just seconds later by Beckett's phone vibrating in her pocket

All three look at their instruments to receive the same message "Gang war in the Heights. Heavy gunfire. Several dead. Need everyone"

The three look at one another then Beckett comments "Let's go guys"


	15. Chapter 15

The two detectives, their captain along with her husband are all in route to the crime scene running their cruisers code three

"What did dispatch say about the scene?" Castle asks his wife as they move rapidly in the direction of a warehouse area where the reports of shootings were reported"

"Shootings? More than one?" Castle asks

"That is how dispatch took it and sent multiple responding units to the scene. According to the early information there is two scenes almost next door to one another and there ae dead bodies allover"

"That sounds like a gang war" Castle Comments

"Yeah it does. Dispatch said that they had reports of hundreds of rounds being fired. The 911 operator said he heard a large number just in the time he was on the phone with the first caller. More than one citizen called and reported the gunfire and each call taker reported the same things were heard on the phone coming from two different buildings"

"So were the calls coming in at the same time? Maybe the operators hears the same events"

"No. The calls were just a minute apart so there were a lot of rounds fired during the course of the event" Beckett responds to her husband

The crime scenes appears in front of the pair as Kate pulls her cruiser into a defensive posture behind several marked cars. The duo get out and are immediately stopped by the perimeter officer, As they approach the area of the lot they can see four black SUV's. Plain with no license plates. There are officers around the vehicles examining the units and getting the VIN numbers from the ID plates under the windshield

Beckett takes out her Id and presents it to the uniform "I am Captain Kate Beckett of the 12th homicide unit and we were called in"

"Sorry, no one is allowed inside until the area sweep has been completed by Tactical"

"Were you told that we were called?"

"Yes, captain, we are told to expect you and your team but still there is a large shooting field inside and until SWAT has made sure it is safe, they are not letting anyone inside, especially a command level officer such as yourself"

Kate turns back toward her team and her husband as the four step away from the barricades "Espo, see what you can find out from the field commander" she turns to her other partner "Ryan do a quick sweep and see what you can determine, then let's meet back here and compare notes"

"Yes, sir" the two men respond in unison and the two detectives move out to their respective assignments

Kate sand Rick walk along the barricades respecting the authority of the uniformed officer that halted them from entering the scene

"Rick, there are black SUV's here just like the mercenaries used when they attacked me just after killing my former team in DC" she is pointing toward the vehicles parked just outside the building

Castle is standing with his hands in his coat pockets thinking about the situation in front of them "If the vans are still here, that means that the occupants did not survive the assault to come back to them and leave the scene"

"Or what about…these belong to the property owner and they are just parked here?" Beckett comments

Then a man's voice appears from behind the pair "Mr. Castle is correct this time"

Castle and Beckett spin around and come face to face with Agent Gray. He has once more appeared from no where with no visible means of arriving without being seen

"The occupants from these vehicles are scattered all over inside" he points toward the warehouse building

Beckett remembers the very spooky nature of the CIA agent "how do you know?"

"I have been inside"

"I thought they area was cordoned off and no one is being allowed inside"

Agent Gray turns to Beckett with a face that screams 'you know I am a spook?'

Castle looks at his wife then turns and picks up on the conversation "Of course, Agent Gray has been inside" then looks at the agent "and what did you see?"

"All twenty of the operatives that came in have been neutralized"

"No one was left alive?" Beckett asks

"No! And it was done with precision. There were a lot of small arms fire and it appears the men on the floor are the only causalities. No other bodies are inside and there is no indication that anyone else was injured"

"Are you telling us that even you do not know who did this?" Castle asks

There is a moment of silence "No. Not totally"

Castle looks at Beckett "That means, he has no idea"

"I figured that out"

Castle and Beckett hear the voice of Lt. Esposito calling to them from across the parking lot "We can have access now"

Beckett comments first "Good, now we can…" her statement fades as she notices that Agent Gray is no longer beside her or Castle. He has, once again, vanished without a sound. The two both look all around them and there is no evidence the man was ever there at all

"So cool" Castle comments as his wife is rolling her eyes and she turns toward the Hispanic detective "On our way"

The three are joined by Kevin Ryan as they move rapidly to the entrance of the warehouse. Just inside the door, they are met by a very large African  
American man "Captain Beckett" he extends his hand "I am Captain Hodges, Tactical division. Are you up for a weird one?"

Castle comments under his breath "If he only knew about our normal cases"

She looks sideways at Castle "What do you have Captain?"

"Follow me" and the man turns and begins to enter the warehouse building. As soon as they enter the main room, it is evident that this was a killing field. Bodies are scattered everywhere. They were apparently involved in a fire fight that they lost. And lost badly with 100% causalities.

After covering their footwear with shoe covers and donning examine gloves the team enter the main room. The group of five now silently walk around carefully avoiding the spent shell casings and blood spatter.

Finally after several minutes, they start looking carefully at the individuals now deceased on the floor. This is when Beckett recognizes one of the men as the leader from the initial attacks several months ago. The same man that Allison Hyde had transferred to her"

"This just proves that she was a scapegoat for Lock Stat" Kate comments

"He got back into circulation for his boss. He must be an important operative" Castle looks at Esposito "Wouldn't you agree Javi?"

Having Castle ask Esposito for his opinion show Javier that Castle holds no hard feelings after his open lack of faith in the writer

"Yeah. He must be the lead for the team" Esposito looks around the room and comments "This was an ambush"

Kate looks at her detective "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Look at the room. The walkway goes all the way around the top. Once the attackers were inside then shooters from up top opened fire. These men" pointing at the bodies on the floor "never had a chance"

"I would have thought that these men would be expecting this? Ryan comments

"They would have if they were in the Middle East but not in a grain warehouse in New York City. They simply were caught totally off guard"

The team continues to walks around looking at the scene as the CSU units start their evidence gathering

When the team arrive on the second floor mezzanine they see the shooter's perch. It appears that there were more than two dozen shooting locations

"Beckett, look here" Esposito call to the captain "The spend cartridges are 45, 9, 40. A mix of a lot of different weapons"

"Is that unusual?" Castle asks

"Oh, yes. A shooting team would all be carrying the same weapons just like those on the floor down there" he points toward the lower floor "They are all carrying the same rifles. The shooters up here were all using different weapons. Almost like a group of militia all bringing in their hunting rifles"

"Are you saying these professional hit squad were taken out by a militia group?" Beckett asks

"No. Just whoever did this drew on a lot of different shooters"

After returning to the main floor Beckett has the area secured. She goes to the command post sets up her command. Once the team gather she is briefing them when a man enters and identifies himself as Zachary Sutton with the US Attorney General's office and he was taking over the case

"I am Captain Beckett and this is my case and NO! You are not taking jurisdiction here. The last time one of your collogues did that the she ended up dead and the suspects vanished until today" she points toward the building "and now they are back and dead on the floor inside the warehouse. So you can go call whoever you want, but I will not release this scene to you"

The man is obviously not happy with her statement

"Do I make myself clear Agent Sutton?"

"We will see about this Captain" and the angry man walks out of the van

Rick looks at Kate and whispers in her ear "so sexy"

She looks up to him "We can look into that later" She then speaks to the group "Get me data as fast as you can. I want names of victims, I want to know who owns this building. I want to know who owns the vans outside. You all know what to do. Let's get to work"

The group disband and head out to do their jobs then Beckett speaks to her husband "I need to call downtown and tell them I just told the feds to go to hell"

"I am, going to enjoy listening to that conversation" and they start toward her cruiser and take a trip back to the station

When Beckett arrives back to her office there is already a message for her to call the commissioner, the DA, and the mayor. She shows the notes to Rick "They didn't waste any time, did they?"

Just as they sit down the phone rings and the desk officer tells the captain that she has a visitor. A confused look appears on her face then she looks at Castle

"Vinnie 'The Scar' Cardano is downstairs and say he need to talk to us about the events in the warehouse"


	16. Chapter 16

Ryan and Esposito have taken charge of the crime scene and are directing the officers exactly what they are wanting documented. Esposito wasted no time in getting the vehicles towed to the department vehicle garage so they can be printed and searched

Ryan is just coming down from the second floor shooting perch when he gets a call on the radio

"Lieutenant Ryan, this is check point"

He takes the Handie-talkie out his pocket "Go ahead"

"Sir, there is a caravan of vans down here claiming they are feds and they are taking charge of the scene"

"Do not let them in and I will be right there" Kevin rushes down the stairs and out the door with Esposito hot on his heels

When the two men reach the perimeter barricade they come face to face with a large group of men and women wearing vests that simply say 'Federal Agent' front and back

"I am Lieutenant Kevin Ryan and this is Lieutenant Javier Esposito. What can we do for you?"

"We are here to assume command of this scene" the man who appears to be in charge begins "We will need access to all notes, photographs…"

His rant is interrupted by Kevin Ryan "No you will not!"

The man is not accustomed to being told no "What do you mean NO?"

"The word NO! That mean you will not be coming into this crime scene. We are not in need of assistance from you. We have everything under control".

"Well you don't seem to understand. We are federal agents and we have been sent here to take command of this scene"

Esposito takes the next part of the conversation "No! You don't understand. This is a New York crime scene and we are NYPD officers and you have no jurisdiction here"

Ryan continues "And we are not in need of any assistance from the feds"

Esposito continues the thought "But if something comes up that involves the feds we will be sure to call you…so until then you can get back into your fed mobiles and head back to wherever you came from"

"We need to speak to your commanding officer" the senior agent speaks with authority

Kevin answers "That would be Captain Katherine Beckett at the 12th so if you want we can have uniforms escort you to the station and you can talk to her there"

There is a moment of acknowledgment on the agent's face, like he knows the name "Who is the next senior officer over Detec…Captain Beckett?"

"That would be our former captain "Deputy Chief Victoria Gate. She is at One Police Plaza. If you would prefer, we can have a uniformed officer take you down there instead"

The federal officer is becoming more and more angry at the stone walling he is receiving "Listen Lieutenant…what did you say your name was?"

The two men speak in unison "Ryan/Esposito"

"Well lieutenant whatever…this is a federal matter and we are here to take over this investigation…"

His rant is cut off by Javier Esposito "Are you saying the assault team inside are federal agents?"

"UH, well No. Not exactly?"

"So then, you are saying the shooters are federal agents?"

"Well. No"

Ryan jumps in when the time is right "Then why are you claiming jurisdiction on this case since you admit that neither the shooters nor the deceased are federal agents"

"Well, we were sent by the AG's office to…"

Esposito uses this sentence to throw in a comment "AG's office? Sort of like Alison Hyde coming in from the AG's office and ending up dead and her prisoners, that we captured by the way, never being seen again" He is thinking 'until today and now back on the street?'

The agent is visibility shaken by the level of knowledge being presented by these two homicide officers

Ryan stares firmly at the men "Listen Agent…whatever did you say your name was? We have our orders and since you cannot prove the persons involved are agents and this appears to be nothing more than a local murder case… I suggest you go back to your offices and fill out about a ream of paperwork and let us do our jobs"

Esposito points toward the vehicles the team arrived in

The agent turns to his group and tells them to load up and that they were leaving. He turns back toward the two NYPD officers "Tell your boss that this is NOT over"

Ryan is the first to speak "She will be so pleased to hear that. But thank you anyway"

They watch the federal team retreat to their vehicles and leave

Ryan speaks to his partner as he points toward the abandoned black vehicles "I will get these SUVs picked up and taken down to the evidence garage as quick as the wreckers can pick them up"

Esposito continues "And I will make sure the bodies are transported as quickly as they can get them. And I will have them taken to the central morgue and have an extra guard placed around them"

"Yeah, we don't need to let them vanish like those bodies when the CIA got involved with Castle and Beckett several years ago"

The Hispanic detective verbally agrees to Ryan's statement

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Immediately after receiving the call from the desk sergeant downstairs announcing the visitor, Captain Beckett receives another phone call, this time from the police commissioner.

As she is answering the call, Richard Castle has walked out of his wife's office to meet Vinnie at the elevator when he arrives on the floor

Captain Beckett picks up on the call "Yes commissioner. Always good to hear from you" she begins responding to the very top of the command structure of the police department

"Yes sir we have a crime scene at a warehouse down near the battery and it…no sir we have no indication that it is a government operation"

She listens once more "Sir, I believe we will have sufficient information by tomorrow morning to present a valid theory as to what happened. In fact a witness has just arrived and we expect to have some answers very soon"

Again she is listening to questions and statements from the highest up in the food chain that is the police department

"I will let your office know the moment we have answers, yes sir"

She sees her husband returning to the conference room with their unexpected visitor as she is hanging up on the call

"Vinnie" Castle's voice is almost a sing song "Good to see you again. How are you doing?" Rick indicates for the well known crime boss to proceed in the direction of the conference room.

Vinnie is a very intelligent man and does understand that by having their meeting in the conference room there are no cameras or recorders and this is where the interviews with victim's families usually occur and that he is not considered a person of interest in the events of earlier in the day

As Castle closes the hallway door he can see his wife walking toward the other entrance "Vinnie, can I get you anything? Coffee, water? A soda?"

"No Rickey, I am good, thank you"

Just as he finishes his comment Beckett enters the other door and closes it behind her

The man turns toward the captain "Kate, so good to see you …and to see that both of you are well"

"You look good too, Vinnie" Castle responds

Kate continues "But I am sure that checking on each others health is not the reason you dropped in today"

The three all sit around the table "No it is not" Vinnie pauses "but because we have some history, I felt like you should know some things that might assure your continued health"

"What might that be?" Castle asks

"Let's say, hypothetically that there were some ladies of the evening that were being harassed by some very unseedy characters and they were being treated badly and this came to the attention of several of the families that live in the City"

"Like the Russian prostitutes that were beaten up?" Beckett asks

Vinnie only nods his head

"And let's say, hypothetically, that there were some people…some very bad people that came into contact with some of the New York family members"

"Are you saying one of these hit squads were stopped by the Mafia? Castle asks

"…and that I might just, hypothetically, know that one or two of these bad people might have been detained to retrieve information from them"

"Vinnie, these people are professional mercenaries. They have been trained to withstand the most intense interrogation methods" Beckett comments

"Kate there are other ways to get information. Let's just say there are ways in the old country that the US government has not even thought about" after a pause "hypothetically"

"Hypothetically?" Beckett remarks

"And in obtaining information from these men it was discovered that they were trying to harm some friends of mine. Someone I consider real good friends and let's say, hypothetically that there are several families around the City that I know and that they know people who know people that can put a wrinkle on these bad people's plans"

"Hypothetically?" Castle responds this time

"It seems that someone wanted you two dead. They have been given the message that if it happens then a new war will be declared"

Kate reaches across the table and places a hand on Vinnie's arm "You know these are government contractors, right?"

"But not working for the government. They are working for someone named Lockstat"

Kate puts on a small smile "Thank you"

Vinnie just smiles then responds "You will find the captured men at the 114th street bakery tied to a bread oven. They are still willing to talk"

The three stand and walk out to the bull pen and Rick and Kate watch as Vinnie exits on the elevator.

The two walk back to the captain's office. When they enter the room they find a guest waiting in the visitor's chair.

"Hello Kate, hello Rick. You seem to have a few real good friends in the City. Friends willing to go to battle for you"

"Agent Gray. Did you come to sweep up the mess your company made?" Beckett asks

* * *

 **I believe that the show runners have been give an ultimatum to fix the mess they made. Episode 8x08 shifted gears in a very odd way. It seems the separation is still there but not a real one. They returned to love story part and kept the break up. It still makes no sense at all**


	17. Chapter 17

In the central police garage the SUV's have arrived and are each being searched carefully by teams of CSU officers

The head of the team walks up to Esposito "Javi, these vehicles are off the books"

"What do you mean?"

"The VIN numbers indicate these vehicles have never been sold. They are not registered in any of the states"

"What is the mileage on the odometers "Ryan asks

"They each have over 10 thousand miles so they are not new unsold vans"

Esposito asks the next question "What about the weapons? Can you trace them?"

"They have no serial numbers" the office answers

"So the numbers have been ground off?"

"No. They have no serial numbers. The location where the number should be is blank. Like they were taken off the assembly line before they were registered"

"Just like the SUV's?"

"Exactly" the CSU officer responds

Esposito pulls his partner away from the other investigators "This is looking more and more like a Black Ops team?"

"What do you mean?" Ryan questions his partner

"These guys are contractors for some government agency that can't be tied to the operation"

"An agency involved in criminal activity?"

"Probably. And that makes them the most dangerous kind. They are answerable to no one

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The small in stature yet large in ability agents never reacts to the comment. Instead he indicates for the two Castles to join him at the table

"I cannot confirm nor deny any agency activity except to active operatives cleared for the level of the information. In this case Top Secret Ultra level"

Beckett looks at her husband "What did he just say?"

Castle does not look away "He just said he knows a lot of things and he has no intention of filling us in on us any part"

She responds "OH!"

The operative makes a comment that takes both of them totally off guard "I am authorized to discuss this case with active operatives already cleared to the Ultra level"

"What are you saying Agent Gray?" Castle asks while he can see Beckett has sat back up straight in her chair

"Mr. Castle you are still listed as an active asset on the books with you clearance current and after you married Kate Beckett, we have cleared your wife as well. You understand, for security reasons. Husbands and wives talk to each other…sometime pillow talk so we had to make sure security is maintained"

A tiny smile appears on Kate's lips as she looks over to Rick "You have been known to mutter women's names in your sleep"

"Jordan was not a woman"

"Whatever…" Kate comments then look at the visitor "Agent Gray what is going on here? What do you know and how long have you known it?"

Being cautious in his answers, Agent Gray begins his briefing of the two

Agent Gray is looking at some notes he brought with him

"Understand that almost all this data just was given to me in the last 24 hours. Mostly after the attack at the warehouse and the total destruction of the assault team by your friends" Agent Gray looks over to Rick

"So you know who is LockStat?" Beckett asks

"That is not a simple question"

"It is very simple" Beckett comments "It is a simple yes or no question. So do you know who LockStat is?"

"Yes and no"

"What do you mean yes and no?" Rick questions "either you know who it is or you don't know who it is"

"Before I answer that question I need to give you a little background first"

His delay is poignant with the knowledge going through his mind. It is obvious that Agent Gray is carefully considering the information he is planning on divulging to the pair

"Over the years the CIA has had numerous operations that, shall we say are best no publically known. Such as dealing with the ability of controlling the memories and thoughts of people"

"This goes back to the testing on human subjects with hallucinogens including LSD and other mind altering substance" Castle states

Beckett fills in "I read somewhere there were some patients that never returned to normal after the testing"

Agent Gray answers her comment "Yes. They discovered that by using those drugs they would basically drive the subjects into zombies. Therefore the name of the project became Project Z"

"Are you saying that the CIA is creating an army of Zombies to attack the city with scores of the undead?"

Both Castle and Beckett could swear they see a smile appear on the agent's face

"No. That project was scrapped after there were several subjects went into a permanent constant psychotic states…"

"I hear a, but in there somewhere" Castle comments

"You are very accurate Castle. That program was scrapped and replaced by another program still focused on mind manipulation. This time they focused on other methods such as hypnosis and other drugs. This time not of the mind altering type. More of the type I believe you have seen before".

"Such as _Scopolamine_ _?_ " Kate asks

"Exactly" Agent Gray answers "But that is not the only drug that was achieve their plan to create the perfect agent"

"Perfect how?"

"An agent that once given orders would carry it out without question. Would walk into a fire if that was the orders"

"That sounds like a dangerous place to be" Beckett comments"

"A very dangerous place" Agent Gray begins filling in more information "It was also a very expense project and with the Senate oversight of the funding the persons running the program had to find new and imaginative ways to come up with the money to carry out the operation"

"So LockStat started smuggling drugs and used the money to fund the project?" Castle inquires

"Along with funding Bracken's personal bankroll. He was paid handsomely to look the other way when any mention of Lockstat appeared in any of the appropriations programs"

Beckett considers the implications of this information "If LockStat's budget requests were not large, then no one would even notice the program and question what it was about"

"Exactly" Gray responds "but when you were in the AG's office and put out that search, it sent a lot of flags up and caused the current response"

Kate looks off from the group as she thinks then comments "I should not have done that search, but at the time we did not have enough on Bracken to take him down. We only got that later after I was back with the NYPD"

"Kate, it would not have mattered. This would have eventually all come to a head"

"Why is that? Castle asks "You have avoided the question but we have to know…Who IS Lockstat?"

The agent pauses once more "LockStat is not a single who. It is a unit. There are several people listed as part of LockStat"

Beckett has grown very impatient "Can you give us a name or a few names of members of this 'Group'?"

"That is one of the more difficult parts of this case. The members sometimes do not know the complete scope of the unit's activity they are involved in. Some are purely innocent and have no direct part of the illegal activities"

Castle has become very tired of the avoidance of an answer "Agent Gray, will you at least tell us the names or names of someone in this unit?"

"One of the names listed as a member of the team is Richard Edgar Castle"

* * *

 **OH MY!  
Just a ahort filler  
**


	18. Chapter 18

The temperature of the captain's office definitely dropped by several degrees. The chill in the air was palpable.

Beckett sat on her chair looking off in the distance. At nothing in particular, just looking out the windows toward the bullpen

"Beckett…"Castle tries to start a conversation

She simply holds her hand up toward his face "Can you excuse me for a minute?"

When Castle does not move, she looks at his face and firmly adds "PLEASE?"

The two men stand and exit her office. When the door closes Castle turns toward the CIA agent "What did I do? I mean, what was my job and how did I get involved with this group? And why don't I remember anything abut them?"

Agent Gray stops and looks back at Captain Beckett's door that is now not only closed but the blinds have all been closed hiding from view whatever she is doing at the moment

"There are a lot of empty pages surrounding this group and its operations. Since they have been operating using drug money and not spending money from the GAO there has been virtually no capital oversight. They have been keeping their actions very well hidden from view. We do know that some of the missions they performed were constructive and helped…but we also know some were not"

"Not good things like the attack in the warehouse? The teams trying to kill Russian prostitutes" That kind of bad stuff?"

"We have it on good authority that that group of attackers represented the majority of their black ops squad"

"If this is a team or group, surely there is a leader. Someone is running the operation. There has to be a single individual. Someone at the top" Castle comments

"That is the person we are having the most difficulty locating. It appears they are not in the higher levels of the CIA infrastructure"

Castle stops then comments "My step mother, Rita, told Beckett that this was an analyst. Could that explain why you are having trouble locating them?"

"Your STEP mother? Who is this woman?"

"My father evidently married her some time after I was born. She said that they see one another rarely due to the job"

"Seeing each other at any time would be near to impossible. Intelligence assets are normally not allowed to even know one another, let alone become romantically involved with one another. They need to avoid emotional connections at all costs. Emotions can get you killed"

In the mean time, Castle is looking at Kate's closed door wondering what is happening inside her private space. The space that is even new to her and he has yet to be allowed inside for any meaningful events or time

His train of thought is broken by the sound of Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito entering the area from the elevator lobby "Hey Castle. What are you doing here?" Ryan asks "And where is Beckett?"

Rick points toward her door "Kate is in there. We have had some issues come up"

"What kind of issues?" Esposito asks "did you do something?"

"No! I don't think so. I do not remember doing anything"

"What do you mean you don't remember doing anything? What did you do to her Castle" Esposito is pointing toward the captain's office

"Javi, I have some missing time in my history going back before I started following her that we are working on filling in"

"OH! Is that your excuse? You have holes in your memory? That is lame bro"

The voice of another man intercedes in the conversation "Rick needs to be given a little slack, Master Sergeant Esposito. He has some history with The Company. He is an important member of that community"

The group looks up to see a man entering the bullpen.

Esposito looks at the new man walking up to the group "Who are you and how do you know my rank. That was kept secret"

Jake Garrett answers the inquiry of the Hispanic detective "I know all about your prior life. I know you were the squad leader. I know about your duties in Special Forces. I am former Delta and several of my team are Seals and Delta. So it is not that difficult to get the information I need"

Esposito is still not convinced "What do you mean he has history?" pointing a finger at Castle

"Rick saved my team more than once but he got trapped into an operation that was so far off the books we are still trying to piece together the story"

Jake looks at the group standing around then finally speaks directly at one of the men "Agent Gray, I have been given clearance to read in everyone here" he points around the circle

"Very well" the CIA agent responds "But we need to take this inside the conference room"

"Agreed" Jake answers as he points toward the door "If you will all join me?"

Once they have all entered the room and the doors are closed and shades drawn the man that Rick though was retired from the business begins speaking

"Rick, we need to thank all your friends in the…shall we say other side of the law, for their actions earlier. They setup a trap for the hit team and drew all of them into a no-win ambush"

"Why did they do that?" Esposito is still questioning the situation "Why did the hit squad show up at the warehouse?"

"It seems the members of Lockstat thought that a Russian prostitute was giving up information to the police about drug running and sex slavery and Vinnie and the family let it be known that there was a meeting planned with the FBI"

Agent Gray continues "But your friends set up a trap. There were members of every crime family in New York and Jersey waiting"

"Why would they do that?" Esposito questions

"The LockStat group were messing in the families business and causing them some problems" Jake continues "Not to mention they had used Vinnie to help cover up Castle's disappearance on his wedding day and Vinnie thinks or Rick as a friend"

"So my kidnapping was done by these people?" Rick asks

"Yes" Jake answers "In fact the two hit squad that Vinnie left tied up for us were the very ones who ran you off the road and drug you from your car"

Esposito asks the next question "How did you get that from these men? They are trained operatives. They would never give up their command no matter what you do to them"

Jake answers the question "Master Sergeant, there are methods of retrieving information that are not well known. Let's just say these two would give up their grandmothers"

Silence will the room for a few moments then Esposito looks at Castle "Are you telling me that Castle is a spook?"

Agent Gray looks at Jake "Let me just say he is a special operations officer and he has been of great service over the years"

Then Jake finishes "But the same group that he and I worked for had a darker side and when they decided that his services could be used to their benefit, he was tricked into helping them"

"How was he tricked?" Ryan finally speaks

"Someone from his past. Someone he knew and trusted brought him in and then trained him" Jake answers "Then when Rick knew it was evil and tried to get out, they wiped his memory and sent him packing"

Javier Esposito, who never believed Castle's story about the wedding disappearance, asks a tough question "What about the wedding? What happened to Beckett's wedding?"

"The two men said that they were ordered to grab Castle before the wedding and take him to a safe house out on Long Island. They drugged him and left him there for the next group to pick him up. They do not know where he went from there"

Even though Rick was listening to the conversation explaining much of what happened to him in the past and the wedding kidnapping is more concerned about his wife. After she threw him and Agent Gray out, she locked her office and closed the blinds.

He has all kinds of thoughts going thru his mind about what she thinks after being told that he is a member of the LockStat group. Even though he is not a part of their criminal activities he is truly worried what Kate might think or do

He sees her door open and she steps into the bullpen to find it empty. She looks around the floor toward the break room then the conference room. She walks briskly toward the closed room. When she reaches the door, she pulls it open with force

"Castle, will you come with me?"

Rick cannot tell what is going on in her mind by her facial expression but he does not think is is very good. He stands, looks around the room, the walks out the door following Beckett

When they arrive at her office, she closes the door behind her and turns the lock

Castle spins on his heels "Kate…PLEASE! I promise I had no part in your mother's death and I promise that I never knowingly did anything illegal…and I had no advance knowledge of my kidnapping from the wedding…"

She holds her hand up to his face as she approaches him

"Castle! SHUT UP and kiss me"

* * *

 **I am trying to finish this story but it won't let me. It keeps going and going all by itself.**

 **It must be that bunny**


	19. Chapter 19

The group sitting in the conference room continue to look in silence at the door to the captain's office that has remained closed wondering how badly the conversation is going

They are all listening in silence wondering when they will hear a gunshot

It is several minutes before Jake finally looks around the room "You all know Beckett better than me. What do you think they are doing inside there right now" he points his thumb in the general direction of the captain's door

"Ryan comments first "Nothing good I can assure you"

Esposito continues the thought "I am sure she is giving him both barrels fully loaded. He will be lucky if they are still be married when he comes back out"

"Yeah. Now that she knows about his involvement with LockStat, then he is being told exactly how the balance of his life will be spent. Mostly in pain and as far away from Beckett that he can get" Ryan comments

"We have seen her mad at him before but the look on her face when she told him to go with her…I have never seen that look" Esposito adds

Ryan finishes "He is not going to be the same when they come out

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Feeling her lips trying to devour him takes his mind off her hand wrapped around his neck.

And the other hand holding on to his shoulder

And her other hand cupping his face

And her other hand around his waist

And her other hand wrapped in his hair

And the moans that are filling the room distract him from any possible sensible thought from ever being made in his head.

He finally pulls back enough to catch his breath "Kate" she is still trying to kiss him "Kate!"

"Hum?" she finally responds

"What is happening here? Don't get me wrong, but I thought you would be drawing up divorce papers along with a warrant for my arrest after hearing about LocSat., I never thought I would be standing here being kiss attacked by my own lovely wife"

He sees the smile radiate from her face that tells him there is a lot going on inside her head

"At first, that is exactly what I thought about. How could my own husband be a part of this? How could the man I love be a criminal and a murderer?"

He feels his heart begin to sink

"Then I thought about everything we have been through together. Just like you said to me that night we had the fight in my apartment and you told me we were done and you stormed out"

She takes a breath "But Rick you took care of me. You were always bedside me. You had always protected me. You always had my back. You saved my life more times than I can remember…"

"I remember exactly. That number would be…" she puts her fingers on his lips to stop him from talking

"You have protected me from Bracken's men several times, sometimes putting your own life in danger, proving you were not part of that and by default LocSat. If you were with them then you would have just let them win and kill me a long time ago. That would have been the easy out"

She locks her eyes onto his

"We have been to hell and back together more than once Rick yet, together, we have still been amazing"

She reaches out to his face again "and I am sure we will continue to be amazing and I cannot imagine us not continuing that together"

"That is exactly what I want, Kate, you and I together fighting crime as a team. I love you Kate Beckett"

"I love you too, Richard Castle"

They pause a brief moment "So, Mr. Castle, shall we go out there" she points to her door "and see what plans we can arrive at?"

"He kisses the top of her head then they turn toward the entry

Beckett stops before opening her door "And Rick, do you still believe we have a mole in the department?"

"Yes! I have a pretty good idea we do?"

"Do you have any thoughts about who it is?"

"Working on that"

She pulls him into her arms again

"And we will make sure they can overhear this conversation?" she states

Beckett opens her door and Castle and her walk briskly toward the conference room.

It is evident by the look on everyone's faces that no one expected to see Castle in an upright position or even with all his l limbs still attached, let alone looking pleased with himself and walking very close beside Beckett.

When they enter the conference room and close the door Beckett begins "So what do we really know about LocSat and the members? And who are these members?"

The team is obviously wondering what took place inside her office, but they decide it is best to not hit this beehive and ask any questions just yet

"We are only positive that LocSat is persons, not a single person" Jake states "but the only person in the room that would have that information is Rick"

Beckett responds "Yes, but his memory had been blanked by them" she looks at her husband "How could they do that? How would they kidnap you and you go willingly?"

Agent Gray answers that question "They would use a code word or most likely a code phrase"

Jake completes the thought "They have implanted that into Castle's head. When he hears that, he has been programmed to follow the instructions of the person leading him. Without question"

Agent Gray finishes the thought "Even if he thought he was retired, Castle could be called back in by just using the activation phrase"

Kate begins her questions "So when Rick was kidnapped from our wedding he was just given the activation…"

"And he would comply without question and without knowledge he was off the books"

"So how do we find the people inside this?" Beckett asks

"We get the activation code, use it on me and then see where I go and who I talk to" Castle responds

"And just where do you suggest we get the code?" Esposito wonders out loud

"The two men we are holding" Jake answers "They were probably given the code in case they needed Castle's compliance"

"Will this be harmful to Rick?" Beckett asks with a tone of concern in her voice

Agent Gray answers her question "No. It should be fine. They have the ability to turn him on and off at will. We just need to have the activation code but we really need to make sure we have the deactivation code as well"

"OK" Jake comments "We will have the phrase from the prisoners as soon as my men can get it from them"

Castle looks at his old friend "Just be sure they have the deactivation code as well"

They all hear the sound of the elevator bell. As the doors open Vikrim steps into the bullpen and motions for Beckett to meet him in her office

* * *

 **I have to say that I am feeling better about the show after the break. The episodes 8x09, 8x10, and 8x11 have restored my desire to watch**

 **I just hope they keep the better stories going and give the show a chance to wrap up nicely in a season 9**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry for the long delay. I was stuck in two other stories and I did have to do a little research for this one.**  
 **So here is the next chapter. We are getting very close to the end**

* * *

They all hear the sound of the elevator bell. As the doors open Vikram steps into the bullpen. He looks around and when he sees her he motions for Beckett to meet him in her office

Castle looks at his wife "What is he doing here?"

She continues to look in the direction the tech analyst has walked "I have no idea, but I will go see"

As Beckett starts to walk in the direction of her office, Castle has begun to move as well. She stops and puts her hand on Rick's chest "Babe, stay here. I will let everyone know exactly what he has to say when I come back out"

"OK, but I want to know every word" Castle remarks

She smiles at him "OK"

Beckett walks quickly toward her office and enters. She closes the door behind her. Vikram starts to close the blinds but Beckett stops him. It is evident that she is giving him clear instructions that the windows will not be covered while they are in her office alone. She can be seen walking around her desk and the man stays in a standing position.

Castle turns back toward his conversation companions, specifically Jake and agent Gray "Do any of you know any details about him" he flips his hand in the direction of her office

Esposito answers first "We don't like him. He has tried to be secretive every time in his conversations with the Captain"

"Yeah, when he has come in he goes directly to her office and they close the door" Ryan states "I don't really trust him"

Castle comments "Me either. Kate had told me that he was with the Attorney General's office"

Castle turns to Agent Gray "Do you have any way to determine if he is or ever was at the AG's office?"

"Yes. I have a former co-worker that is still working for the attorney general. I will call him and see what I can find out"

Castle looks aback to his wife's door "Thanks Agent Gray"

Jake then stands up "And I will see what information we can get from the two surviving mercenaries" he walks out the door followed by Agent Gray

Castle looks back to the two detectives "What can you tell me about this guy that the others don't know?"

"We don't like him at all. We have been wondering about his motives ever since she showed up." Ryan answers "he has just been too chummy with the captain"

Esposito finally speaks up "Hey, bro. I want to tell you how sorry I am that I thought you were cheating on Beckett. I mean that night you said you were going out on the town we thought you were really doing the deed…you know?"

Castle turns sits back down with the two men "I know. But that is ok. Kate and I planned it that way. We wanted it to appear we were split. We planned this out very carefully. We did not want out relationship to be discovered until we had some evidence on LocSat"

"We still don't" Ryan responds

"No. Not really" Esposito also comments

"I know but Jake and his team have been watching us carefully. They were using what little information we gathered to dig into the conspiracy"

Kevin asks "What did they discover?"

"Actually guys, a lot is still classified and Kate and I have to keep quiet about it"

"I was Special Forces Castle! I ate classified for breakfast" Javi comments

"I know Espo, but this is even higher than what you had" Rick states

"How do you know what my clearance level was?"

Castle just smiles back at the detective "I know someone"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Inside the closed office of Captain Beckett the computer technician is looking out the window toward the conference room where he can still see Richard Castle standing, but he does not see are the others in the room

"Kate you need to stay away from Castle for his safety"

She has a glare in her eyes that the man has not seen before "You came to tell me something? What is it?"

"I placed a trace on the email account that sent the data to Agent McCord on Locstat

"The account that sent the declassified data to McCord?"

"Yeah. I decided that if it became active again we might use it to trace the destination and see where that takes us"

"Did you find anything?"

"Yes. Just before the attack in the warehouse it began sending and receiving a large volume of emails to a business in Queens"

"Were you able to get the content?" She asks

:"No, Just there was a flurry of communications between the business in Queens and a computer inside the CIA. I have someone looking for me"

"Who?" She questions

"Someone I have worked with before. Someone I can trust"

"Vikram, you tell me I can't be with my husband yet you have someone inside the CIA that you do trust? I thought we couldn't trust anyone even our own family"

"Kate. This is a person I worked with for years before he joined the CIA and I went to work in the AG's office"

Beckett looks out the window toward her husband then back at the tech analyst "OK! Give me the address and you follow up on the emails, but if he can't get us usable data, we move on and work this from another direction"

"He looks back into the bullpen "Kate. I mean it. You need to keep away from your husband or you are going to get him killed"

Beckett opens the door and indicates for him to exit her office. He walks directly to the elevator and enter the cab

Beckett enters the conference room and shows the paper to Esposito "Vikram says this is the address where a large number of emails were sent from the CIA computer that may be the top of LocStat"

She looks at her two detectives "Let's go guys and check out this address and see if we can get to the bottom of this"

The three police officers along with their one civilian writer head out to the address they were given to investigate.

Once on the road Castle reaches over to take his wife's hand. He gives her fingers a gentle squeeze "Kate. I don't like that Vikram guy"

She glances quickly over to him "Rick. I don't either. That is why I have kept him on a short leash. I mean he has tried to keep me away from you…his leads typically don't lead anywhere…and are usually extremely vague"

"But you have met with him several times"

"Yes. But I always made sure I had my recorder running or I was in the station with witnesses close by"

"Kate. There were several people that thought you and…you know you and I were broke up and living apart and you were,,,"

"Castle. Just say it. They thought I was having an affair with him?"

"Yeah"

She pulls his hand to her body and places his fingers palm down against her chest "Rick. This heart belongs to you. Has for several years and nothing is going to take that away. I love you, Richard Castle. As I have never loved anyone before you. I will not chance losing this for LocSat or anything or anyone"

She quickly glances to his face "Understand?"

He smiles back "understand"

When they arrive at the address in Queens given to them they find an office building with several suites, but there is no directory listing the occupants

"How do we locate the suite where the email was sent?" Castle asks

Ryan is already grabbing his phone "I know someone at One PP who can track the IP address that received the email and let us know exactly which space it is in"

While they are waiting for the response they are walking along the corridor. As they pass the closed doors passing several unmarked offices

Rick reaches toward one door to turn the lock when his phone rings. Caller ID indicates that is Jake

"Hey Jake, what's up?"

He listens for a very short moment then looks at the other three "WE NEED TO GET OUT…NOW!"

The team rushes out of the building and out to the lot

"What's going on Castle?" Beckett asks

"Jake talked to the prisoner…he said the building is booby trapped. If you open the wrong door without disarming the system the entire building blows up"

Beckett looks at Esposito "Call the bomb squad and get them down here…NOW"

"That was close "Ryan comments"

"Too close" Castle responds

Within 30 minutes the bomb squad's command van has arrived and their officers have cordoned off the area

Castle, Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito are waiting at the edge of the perimeter when a very large officer steps up to them "I am Captain O'Malley, who's Beckett?"

Kate steps up "I'm Captain Beckett, this is my team"

"It is a good thing you called us. We have determined the building would have come down around you if you had set off the charges. What were you doing here?"

"Following up on a lead. You heard about the ambush earlier?"

"Yeah, I did. This is a part of that investigation?"

Beckett responds "Yes, but we can't tell you any more right now. Do you know when we will be allowed inside?"

"It is going to be several hours. Probably tomorrow morning" the bomb squad commander answers "I would plan to come back in the morning"

"Thank you. Call us if you need us" Beckett tells the other captain

The four walk out of the area "You guys go on home and I will call if I hear from the bomb squad" The two detectives walk to their car as Kate looks at her husband

"I am not sure if it is a good idea to go to the loft tonight" Castle comments to her

"What do you have in mind?" Kate asks

"I still am waiting for that date with my Russian companion but I think we need to go to the Four Seasons this time"

Beckett smiles at her husband "You did promise me a cleaner room next time…didn't you?"

She takes his hand and pulls him toward her cruiser


	21. Chapter 21

Any morning that Richard Castle wakes up beside his lovely wife is a day that cannot be all bad.

Today is a day that is beginning in a very good place. She is next to him all curled up into his side.

A sleeping Katherine Beckett is a sight to behold and he never ceases to be amazed that she is here beside him. Married to him

He feels her begin to move as sleep is leaving her brain and bringing her back to the harshness of the day ahead

She does not even open her eyes when she makes her first statement of the morning "Watching me sleep is more creepy now than you were years ago:" Then she shifts trying to come even closer to him

"Good morning yourself"

She still has not opened her eyes and gives him a soft chuckle "Love you"

"Love you too. Are you ready to get our day started?"

Kate's voice is muffled into her pillow "Have you heard from the bomb squad yet?"

"No. Not yet. So I think we have time to clean up and have some breakfast before we go back over there"

"Sounds good to me" Kate comments

She rolls over away from Rick and throws the covers off and sits up. "I'm going to jump in the shower…" She then stands and briskly walks toward the bathroom. Just as she reaches the door to the room she looks back over her shoulder "you coming Castle?"

She does not have to ask twice. Rick is up and right behind her.

Forty-five minutes later they are both finishing up getting dressing when her phone rings. She picks it up from the night stand "Beckett" she listens for a minute "Hello Captain O'Malley"

She listens as the officer on the other end is giving her information

"Castle and I will grab some breakfast and be right there" She punches the disconnect button "They are making a final sweep but they have cleared the building of all the explosives and according to the captain they found enough C4 to take down not just that building but all the buildings around it. And all the charges were well placed. They were set by someone who knew exactly what they were doing"

Castle and Beckett finish packing their go bags they brought to the room so after breakfast they can just come back and grab them and check out. They leave the bags on the bed and go downstairs to grab something to eat

Within three minutes of leaving their room the guest room door opens again and a person wearing the uniform of a hotel employee enter the suite and locates the couple's bags.

Opening Castle's carry-all an item is slipped inside near the top and the zipper is closed. The bag is left in the exact location where it was found so he would not know it was disturbed while they were downstairs at the buffet. The person slips back out of the room and disappears down the corridor

Sitting at the table finishing a cup of yogurt and a small bowl of fruit Kate is looking at her husband "When this is over, we are going on that romantic island getaway"

"I didn't know you had built back up enough vacation days yet"

She reaches across the table and takes his hand ""We are getting away for a little while…no matter what!"

They are finished with breakfast and heading back up for their room to grab their bags when her cell phone rings again "Beckett" she listens "We are checking out right now and will be there in fifteen minutes"

She looks at Rick "The bomb squad has finished their work and are packing up to leave. There is still a perimeter set up and CSU is starting their first sweep. They will be ready for us when we arrive"

After grabbing their bags and checking out the couple are once again on the road heading to a crime scene the way they prefer to be…

Together

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Once they arrive at the warehouse building they see the bomb squad command van has been replaced by the CSU vans. Several vans have arrived actually

Walking through the front doors Beckett has to present her ID to the recording officer at the entry for the purpose of documenting her presence at the crime scene for chain of evidence.

Once inside the building they go looking for their two partners. The men are already at work searching the facility looking for whatever evidence they can locate. The men had entered the first room and began searching locating nothing more than an office with desks and computers. It actually looks like a normal reception area. An area that could easily belong to an accounting firm of a lawyer's office. There is nothing sinister about the room

They begin by checking the file cabinets. This is when it appears that this office is a front for some clandestine operation. The files indicate they are a consulting company doing wealth management

While Ryan and Esposito are completing their search of the first room Becket and Castle enter the second room where they find the CSU team working

"What have you found so far?" The captain asks of the lead investigator

"Nothing of any importance. I am sure the CSU tech group will get more from the computers but nothing stands out at the moment" the officer responds to the senior officer

This room looks like a typical office where someone works at a desk all day with nothing exciting to do

Beckett and Castle enter the next room and are more impressed "Castle, this looks like the gym at the precinct" Kate comments while she is looking around at all the work out equipment. Weights, treadmills, and exercise cycles.

Castle responds to her comment ""I would say that whoever works here is staying in good shape"

"Yeah they are" Kate answers as she walks around the machines. She is looking closely at the equipment the comments "This is top of the line machines. No something you would go buy at the local sporting goods store. This is the expensive stuff you would see in a health club"

After a few minutes looking at the room Detectives Ryan and Esposito enter the room "You two need to come see this" Javier points toward the door

When the four enter the next room they see what has the Hispanic detective so excited.

The room is an armory. It has shelves and racks of weapons. Assault rifles, sniper rifles, spotting scopes, listening equipment and cabinets filled with thousands of rounds of ammunition

"It looks like these people were planning on a war" Castle comments

Beckett continues in the thought "Yeah! But a war on whom?"

"My guess it was against you and Castle" Ryan responds

"What do you mean Kevin?" Castle asks

"We found this in the file cabinet up front" Esposito hands a file over to Beckett. Inside are photos of her and Castle taken at various times and dates. Some were of them on dates. Some were at crime scenes.

There is actually one taken inside the precinct

Looking at the last image Beckett comments "This seems to confirm your concern about someone inside the station"

Castle and Beckett move through the rest of the building. It is evident that is is some type clandestine operation or an off the books contractor

Returning to the main area they are met by Ryan and Esposito carrying several boxes of evidence gathered in this morning's search

"Did you find anything of real interest?" Beckett asks

Esposito answers first "Not really. There are a lot of ledgers and records but probably the computer files will be the most helpful"

Ryan continues as he reaches into the bx he is carrying "We did find one thing that makes no sense however"

"What is that?" Beckett asks

Detective Ryan pulls his hand out of the box holding a dog eared copy of 'Casino Royale' by Ian Fleming

"This was in the cabinet with a note that said 'First Line and Last Line'"

"What does that mean?" Beckett wonders

"I have no idea" Esposito responds

Ryan then takes the book and opens it to the first page "The first line is highlighted"

"Read it" Castle comments

Kevin Ryan opens the book and quotes the opening line

" **The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning"**

Richard Castle suddenly reacts to the words spoken as he takes in a breath. His face goes firm. His jaw s clinched and his eyes are locked forward

Kate looks at her husband "Rick! What is going on?"

"Kate, you should not be here. Why are you here? This is a classified operation and…" he trails off then turns back toward the group then he looks around as if he does not recognize his surroundings "Where am I and why am I here? And where is control?"

Esposito looks at the man who seems to be different "I think we just found Castle's activation code"

* * *

 **Starts out sweet...Ends in Angst**


	22. Chapter 22

It is evident that Richard Castle has had a major shift occur in his demeanor. He is not the same man he was just a moment ago. He is hardened and the lines on his face are set in a more threatening way than any others have ever seen in him

Castle reaches and takes Kate by the arm and pulls her towards the exit door "Kate! You cannot be here. You have to leave. NOW!"

"I am not going anywhere Castle. What is going on?"

He looks around like a man on a mission "You and the guys are in danger"

"In danger? In danger from what or who?"

LocSat" is his one word answer

"You know who LocSat is don't you?"

He is still scanning the area "You need to go. I will have Jake take you some place. Some place where you will be safe" As he pulls his wife by the arm once more

She jerks away from his grip "Rick…I love you and I am not leaving you. We have to do this together. We always been the safest when we are together"

Her words sink in to Castle and he seems to be listening "Ok but you must do what I tell you…when I tell you. OK?"

She looks into his eyes where she sees his love for her still as strong as it has ever been.

"OK" she responds "Now what happened?"

"I remember everything. I remember my training… I remember Sophia Turner…I remember being kidnapped from our wedding. …and I remember…. "His voice trails off

Kate reaches up to touch his face "What else do you remember Rick?"

"I remember being in a firefight and being wounded"

Kate pulls Castle back towards the other two detectives but he stops her "We need to keep the details secret. They don't have clearance. You do"

She stops in her movements "Start at the beginning Rick"

He looks across the room "When I began to write the Derrick Storm books and I needed to do some research. I needed to make Storm real. I actually called the CIA and asked to interview an agent"

"And they said what?…sure Mr. Castle we will be glad to have an active agent drop by and help you out with that"

He smiles softly at his wife "No! Of course not, but a few days later I got a visit from Agent Gray. That is when I met him.. He came by and we talked for several hours. I think he was investigating me. Thought I was a foreign agent looking to break into the CIA".

Kate smiles at her man "Break in how? Knocking on the front door and asking to come in?"

"He later told me that that was exactly what they thought"

"So how did you get in then?"

"He called back a week later and said that I had been cleared. So I got to go in"

"So you went into where? The facility in Virginia and got to see a few things?"

He looks away from Kate like he is afraid she is going to be upset about what he is going to say "I went to the Farm"

"EXCUSE ME? WHAT? What do you mean you went to the farm? Castle that is the training facility for their best filed agents"

He only shakes his head agreeing to her question

"So what happened then?"

"This is when I met Sophia Turner. She is the one who put me into the special assets unit"

"What is that?"

"We each had special talents. One guy was a whiz with numbers. One woman was a chemistry genius. I was the one to solve puzzles"

"That is how you ended up helping by looking at the intel and determine what is happening. Sort of like you do with us here at the NYPD?"

"Right. I spent a lot of time with Sophia at the beginning. That is when I came up with Clara Strike"

Kate suddenly feels the green eyed monster climb up her chest and settle in her throat "So…This is when you two slept together?"

Castle knows that his conversation is not going as well as he hoped. He takes Beckett's hands and gives her a gentle squeeze "Kate….she was not you. No one even comes close to you"

Kate closes her eyes trying to remove the jealousy from inside. She knows his love for her is unconditional. She needs to make sure her love for him matches.

"I know" She responds after taking a deep breath "Rick. Since you have all your memories back right now, can you answer a question for me?"

"Of Course"

"Are there any planted memories about…" she pauses "US?"

He reaches around Beckett "Nothing planted. All real…so very, very real"

She lets out the breath she did not know she was holding "So what happened then?"

I was contacted by the NSA and they asked me to assist. I already told you about Jake and his team"

"You saved their lives"

"It was after that my memory was blanked from then until our wedding then again until just now actually"

What happened after you saved Jake's team?"

"I was sent to assist in a human trafficking interdiction in Bangkok. That is when everything went bad wrong"

"What happened?" Kate is still holding her husband's hands

"We were in the hotel the night before we were scheduled to return to the states. I got up to go to the bathroom and while I was in there, I heard automatic weapon's fire"

"What happened then?"

"When I came out the entire bar was shot up. Everyone was dead. The bartender, the waitresses, the rest of the patrons, and…"

"And what?"

"My team. All of them were dead, except me…just because I had to go to the head"

Kate takes another deep breath realizing that what she has now almost didn't happen

"When I got back to our base, I was debriefed and sent back stateside. I met back up with Sophia and she said that if they didn't remove the memories of the carnage in the bar I would be haunted forever"

"What did they do?"

"They told me they had ways to blank my memories of what happened and I asked them to just do it"

"But there is an activation code that brings it all back" Kate is fretting

"They told me it was so they could retrieve more information later if needed to. It is obviously used for more than that"

"Is that what happened at our wedding? They needed more information?"

"What kind of information?"

"They needed me and my skills in deciphering clues. That is when I was shot"

"Were you shot at in a gun fight?"

He pauses as if he is trying to decide how much information to give her "Yeah…I was…I was defending myself"

"From who? Who was shooting at you?"

"Drug dealers. I was with a drug survey unit and we were ambushed"

He pauses a few seconds "That is where I was during the wedding. I was taken and sent to search out a drug cartel in South America"

"That would explain the scar and the Dengue fever" Kate remarks

"And that's where my bullet wound came from"

"Was it Columbia?" Kate wonders since that is drug central in South America

Castle stops to think "Yeah. It was" Then a light seems to come on in his head "I remember!"

"They pulled me to send me to an operation in Colombia. A drug operation and money laundering"

"Like what Vulcan Simmons was doing?"

"Simmons was not the only operative they had doing it at the time. There were several issues"

"What do you mean …issues?"

"They had a cartel leader skimming from them and they wanted him to have an attitude correction done"

"Why did you go?"

"They were going to destroy the cartel but needed information"

"Why did you go? Rick you could have refused them…right?"

He looks deep into Kate's eyes "They didn't give me an option. They said either I help or they were going to kill everyone I loved…starting with you"

"Why didn't they just send in a hit team? They are real good at that" She draws in a long breath "Why were you the one needed?"

"My speed reading and image recall skills. They needed for me to search a set of records to see where and how the drugs were leaving the country and their destination along with the money and make a decision to our next plan"

"Why didn't they just take a camera and photograph everything?"

"A camera takes too long. I not only looked at the paper work. I looked over the room, the paintings on the wall, the furniture. Everything. Then based on what we saw I made decisions on our next action We were acting on instant information. There were no cameras. This action was totally off the books"

"We had gone in like all friendly. We were in the main room. They were arguing in Spanish and I only understood one or two words then guns came out and bullets began to fly. I was hit and ducked behind the desk. It was a thick wooden desk and blocked some of the bullets"

"But you got out?"

"Yeah. After the shooting stopped I crawled out to find the room full of bodies…" He looks off again

"Castle are you OK?" Kate is becoming worried about him "These are some terrible images I am sure"

"The worst. Back outside the extraction team came in and took me back to base camp. They treated my wounds and sent me back stateside"

"What happened then?"

"They told me if I ever told anyone what happened or what I saw, you would be the first to die"

The outside door opens and a shadow of someone enters. Beckett and Castle recognize him immediately

"Hey Jake. What's going on?"

The man has a stern look on his face "We need to talk. In private"

The three walk into one of the empty rooms when Jake looks at Castle "Rick. We have been waiting for you to recover your memories. Tell me. Who is LocSat?"


	23. Chapter 23

**After Episode 14, I hold little hope for a season 9 renewal**.

* * *

The assault team has gathered just outside the non-descript building in Brooklyn. Jake and his unit are gathered like a small army checking their weapons and the rest of their gear. This group is ready for about any possible action

Castle and Beckett, along with Detectives Ryan and Esposito have been directed to stay back inside the command van and watch the event on the monitors that line all the walls of the vehicle. They are directed to wait until the site has been secured and any and all threats have been neutralized.

The four are pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the operation is working. Several additional vehicles arrive with more armed men and women joining Jake's team.

"How did they find this place" Esposito asks not knowing how much information Castle was able to provide once his memories had been recovered.

Beckett answers "I understand they got a tip about this place…"

Castle finishes the sentence "maybe from one of the two men they captured"

"It must be like that warehouse where the drugs were taken from that cruise ship." Ryan comments"

"OH. Is it owned by the same dummy corporation?" Esposito questions

"Possibly the corporation that owns that one owns several others as well" Beckett fills in trying to distract the conversation "That is what I understand trying to avoid the obvious questions their friend are issuing."

The couple hates to lie to their friends and co workers but sometimes ignorance is the best protection and with LocSat the less you know the safer you are

They are sitting as a group just watching the story playing out in front of them on live television when Castle pulls on Beckett's arm "Come outside with me a minute" and they move out the door and far enough away that their conversation is private

"Kate. Listen, I need to tell you that there was nothing that happened while I was gone" He has real fear in his voice as if she will not accept the outcome

"Castle…I know" she looks back to the assault team "Right now I need to focus on this operation and when this is over we can discuss what took place while you and I were apart at our wedding"

His face falls with her remark. She has turned and he follows her back toward the door to the van and the other men

As they are waiting another SUV arrives and a group of men exit the vehicle. Included in this arrival is Agent Gray and another man they don't recognize. Both men are already wearing protective gear

When they enter the van, Castle makes the opening comment "Agent Gray…I didn't know you did field work anymore"

"I do what needs to be done" he points to the new arrival "This is Agent Zachery Sutton. He is currently working in the Attorney General's office investigating the deaths of your former team"

"So are you going in now?" Beckett asks

Gray looks back toward the lot where the teams are gathering "Not yet. We are waiting for one more agent"

Just as he speaks the words another van clears the corner heading toward the other parked vehicles "That must be him now" Sutton states

"Who is this?" Castle questions just as the passenger door opens and Vikram Singh steps out wearing a vest identifying himself as a 'Federal Agent" and begins moving toward the group

As soon as Vikram arrives in the van he begins "Kate, Rick…I am so sorry I had to put you two through this but we had to make sure that Mr. Castle was not a part of the LocSat hierarchy"

"What do you mean "PART OF" Beckett asks with obvious anger in her voice "You know damn good and well Rick was not any part of that group. Jake knew that" She points at Rick's protector

Jake responds quickly "Kate. I felt like he was just an unknowing pawn, but we had to be sure. Please understand. I was tasked with protecting you two from LocSat during the investigation but if it turned out that Castle was one of the leaders…" he lets the words drop off

Castle looks at the growing group of agents "Who is investigating?"

Vikram responds to the question "We are the federal government's equivalent of the police department's internal affairs except our security clearance is way above even the president. We investigate crimes on the part of any member of any government agency"

He looks at Kate "We knew that LocSat existed but were unable to make any connection and then your initial inquiry into Bracken's actions triggered the roller coaster that brought us here today"

Beckett has stood next to Castle this entire conversation "So how is Rick involved in all this or rather why is he involved?"

The team looks at one another then Jake gives the answer "We got information from Castle's debriefing for the Bangkok mission that seemed a little odd so we went digging a little deeper. It seems that a contractor's team was also in Bangkok at the same time. We think they were a hit squad sent in to take out everyone from the group"….he looks at Castle "Including you Rick"

"But I was in the rest room"

"That is the only thing that saved you. When you came out you went to ground and hid until you went to the extraction point and were picked up. Then you went back into the system and it would have been a problem to take you out. The group activated the memory wipe protocol effectively taking away any memories of what happened and released you back into the world"

At this moment the squad leader joins up to the group and directs his conversation toward Jake "Sir, we are ready to go in"

The man shakes his head and turns to Castle and Beckett "You two stay here safe until we are positive any and all threats are neutralized"

The couple acknowledges by a simple simultaneous nod of their heads

They watch the group rush towards the building that can only be seen on the monitors in the command van

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Inside the lower level of the facility there is a heated meeting happening between the man in charge and two other males sitting at a table

"For years we have been able to keep our program out of the limelight and now you have brought out the end of this and probably us as well" The tallest of the three speaks toward the leader

The second, much shorter, man chimes in "We were doing well. We had everything we wanted and then you had to let a personal vendetta come in and destroy everything we had"

The second man continues the statement "All over a petty jealously"

"The leader responds to the verbal attacks "Either one of you would have done the exact same thing I did if the tables were turned"

"I doubt that and now we have no protection. They killed all out operatives in that warehouse. So if they were to come for us now there is nothing to stop them"

All three of the members of this group are distracted by the sound of the telephone ringing.

The obvious leader picks up the phone "Dobson" he listens a moment then his face changes to resolution to the events happening

The facility has been seized by the agency's housekeeping unit. They are upstairs as we speak"

"So it is all over?" The third man asks

Dobson shakes his head in the affirmative "We all know what we need to do now"

The two other men exit the room leaving him alone.

A few minutes pass then he reaches down to his desk and removes a Glock23

He bolts the slide verifying there is a round in the chamber and slowly pulls the barrel toward his temple and places his finger inside the trigger guard. He looks over to the credenza behind his desk at a photograph of him and a younger woman.

He speaks to the image "I am so sorry I couldn't avenge you my darling"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

They have listened to the communications occurring in the building. It is evident that this unit is a well-oiled machine that has practiced for these type actions

"Castle…do you think this is the building we were taken to by Sophia Turner?" Kate asks

"I don't think so. When we were taken by her team we were closer to midtown, not this far out"

As they are watching the monitors Castle seems to becoming more concerned about the current action. He finally turns toward Beckett "Kate can you and I talk for a minute?"

"Sure" she responds

Castle takes her by the hand and pull her outside the command van again "Kate…there is something I need to talk to you about. Something that happened when I was kidnapped"

"What is it Castle" Beckett is standing as close to her husband as she can

"Kate please know that I love you with all my heart. I have loved you from the moment we met and I will love you, and no one else. Always"

Before Beckett can raise the question this comment has brought up. They hear the sound of the team approaching from inside the building. Castle has been given a reprieve for the question that will have to be answered now

"Rick, do you want to tell her what happened or shall I?"

The statement from Jake catches Kate in the chest. "Why are you asking Castle that?"

"Kate, when I first entered the operational group, my control stateside was an analyst named Robert. He was an older man around my mother's age, He had been with the agency for years. I trusted him"

"OK so he was who you reported to?"

"Yes, but what I didn't know at the time was he and I had history"

"How did you and a CIA analyst have history?

"Kate, do you remember me telling you about my high school years and growing up attending Faircroft Prep?"

"Yeah. You were expelled for putting a cow on the roof"

"And that is what kept me from going to prom?"

"OK?" she is not understanding where he is headed with this "You said you had a date with Audra Dobson" and Kate remembers what he said about her and how hot she was

After college her dad had her recruited for intelligence gathering at the agency"

"So an old high school classmate works for the CIA"

"I didn't know it at the time she was embarrassed in front of all of her friends by me standing her up at prom and swore to get back at me one day"

"She really held a grudge?" Beckett comments, then under her breath "I have thought about that a few times myself"

"Yeah. I found out later her dad, was Robert Dobson, the man I was reporting to and department head at the CIA.

Jake decides to fill her in on the rest "When she figured out that Richard Castle was the former Richard Rogers, who embarrassed her earlier, she arranged his kidnapping at the wedding and found an excuse to take him to Columbia

Beckett realizes where this is going "She tried to get Rick killed" said more as a statement than a question

Castle reaches and takes Kate's hands "She actually tried to kill me herself"

"WHAT?"

"She went with us to Columbia. When the shooting started I realized I was shot by her. Then the others returned fire and she was killed"

Agent Gray fills in more information "She and her dad have been running LocStat for years and when she was killed in the operation her father blamed Rick. He has been .looking for a way to get back at him since"

Jake takes over "Knowing how Rick feels about Kate, he decided to punish Rick by killing Kate"

"But they stopped when we went public" Kate responds

"It became too public. Dobson had two partners who pulled him back…at least temporarily" Jake finished the report

Agent Gray turns to the couple "Rick, Kate…you two need to go home, Let us finish the cleanup

"You two can now have some private time without a killer hunting you down. Go home"

Castle looks at the other men "Except my memories are still here. I want to go back without seeing the carnage in my mind every time I close my eyes"

Kate takes the Ian Fleming book from her purse and opens it to the last page. She looks around the room and then finds the last line

She takes in a breath to quote "This is so appropriate" she smiles

" **The bitch is dead now"**

Every eye is on Rick Castle when he speaks "OK when are you going to give me the deactivate code?"


	24. Epilogue

The last thing anyone expected was for the deactivation code to fail…yet it had.

Richard Castle is still in the state of complete memories of what took place earlier in his career and the more recent events relating to his abduction from the wedding.

"Kate I still remember everything and I don't want to remember those days." He tells Beckett "There was too much destruction and carnage to deal with. I need these memories gone"

She touches his face with her long slender fingers giving him some relief from the tension as only she can

"Babe, I know but we used the last line in the book. The clue said the first and the last. The first activated you and the last line should have removed the memories"

"But it didn't" Castle responds

"Let's go back to the precinct and see if we can come up with a solution"

They get into her cruiser and travel back to the station. The ride is performed in silence except every few minutes a sigh is heard leave Castle's lips as he has leaned back and seems to try and will his memories to be erased

Once they arrive in the basement Rick asks Beckett to open the trunk so he can get some aspirin from his bag. He says that he has a blinding headache and need to take something.

When he opens the zipper and goes looking for his toiletries bag he finds something he did not pack. He takes it out of the case and turns to Beckett

"Kate, did you put this in my bag?"

She looks at the worn paperback novel and replies "No. Where did it come from?"

"I don't know. It was in my overnight bag, but I didn't put it in there"

Rick looks at the paperback and is somewhat surprised by the author. It is another of the Ian Fleming spy books

"Someone put this in my bag…but who? and Why?"

Rick flips the book so he can see the cover. "It is the book, 'The Living Daylights'"

Castle, you are the expert. Is there any significance in the title of this book or anything inside?"

He thinks for a moment "No…not really. It was the last Bond book Fleming wrote himself…"

It appears a light has gone on in both Rick and Kate's head at the same moment and they speak as one voice

"Casino Royale was the first and The Living Daylights was the last"

Kate grabs the book from his hands and flips to the last page. She looks up to her husband and quotes the final line

" **Thanks, driver.** **Headquarters** **please"**

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

* * *

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

EPILOGUE

Richard Castle and his lovely wife have returned to safety of their loft after finishing what seemed like the never ending stack of paperwork

But tonight they came home, to their home TOGETHER

TOGETHER at home for the first time in months and this time no doom or threats hanging over them

She drops her bag in the closet and begins peeling off her clothes "I am going to take a long hot soaking bath"

"And I am going to grab a quick shower and then make a few notes about the case to use in a book one day"

Before she becomes completely naked Kate wraps herself around her husband "you know you cannot tell this story. It is classified to the highest level"

"I know but I can tell a cleaned up version of it"

"That's a good choice of words being we discovered a major laundering operation"

"Touché" and kisses her "now go get your bath and I will get a shower and we can then just relax and have a glass of wine before going to bed"

She turns and disappears into the tub after having her clothes fall to the floor as she moves away from him

Rick follows suit quickly into the shower stall beside the tub and washes the sins of the day away from his body. After toweling off and finishing drying his hair he moves out of the room leaving his wife, in what appears to be a state of full bliss on her face

Completing his shower long before Kate, Rick has moved into his study. When he opened the computer he found a message for an online gamer he had been having a long running battle with over the last several months while Kate was MIA from their home.

A young man named Patel in India had been trampling Rick from every angle. Castle decides that he is not going to let a snotty nosed kid get away with this. He moves to the monitor and activates the game system. He sees that his opponent is primed and ready to go head to head with Castle.

He puts on his blue tooth headset and picks up the controller and the game is afoot. The sounds coming from the game is war and gun battles and canon fire and missiles detonating all around in full 7,1 surround

Castle is talking to his opponent over the blue tooth and it is difficult for anyone else to hear above the din of sound filling the room

"Take that, Patel" Rick can be heard to say "how do you like this" as he ambushes the opponent over the internet connected game of war

"OH YEAH?" Castle continues to chide the boy on the other side of the planet "Have I got something for you…"

It is at that very moment that Kate steps into the light from the bedroom and into the study. Her back is to Castle and she looks over her shoulder and in a very deep and very sexy voice says "and have I got something for you…too" as she slides her hand down her shoulder exposing her back from her neck to her upper arm. The arm that is now only partly covered with one of Rick's long sleeve dress shirts

Castle takes about one second to respond to the voice of his wife and looks up just in time as she turns around and is now facing him. With the light behind her it appears she is wearing his pale blue button down shirt, that she has always loved to see him in, and…

NOTHING ELSE

She has only the second from the bottom button closed but it is evident that the shirt is the only thing between her and the piercing eyes of her husband

Castle is not sure where to look first. The top of the shirt that is open down to the navel or her firm legs that start at the hem of the shirt go on forever

But which ever place he begins it is not going to be long before he will be loosing the game with his worthy opponent since he is no longer moving the controller

His slack jaw look tells her that she still has it when it comes to her man. Kate is enjoying the fact she can still steal his attention even when playing his games. Making sure that the shirt is just barely covering herself she makes her next comments

"Listen Castle, if you need to finish playing your with your friend, I can just go on to bed and let you finish your game and we can take this back up tomorrow or at some other time"

Stuttering into his headset while trying to take it off and without ripping his own ear from his head "I…uh…need…I go …need to…need….go… to go…now"

He listens to the conversation from the other end on the headset "No it is not my mom…" Rick is smiling at Kate "It is much, much better" and a sigh leaves his throat

He drops the headset and controller and follows her into the quiet of their private space. Just as he closes the door his shirt is seen flying across the room and Kate is heard to giggle

"I am back home where I Always want to be"

"And where you belong"

FINIS

* * *

 **Thanks everyone for joining me on the journey.**  
 **I am currently in writer's block so I am not sure when of if i can start back up. But I have said that before and then some really great episode of Castle re-ignited me.**

 **Problem this season is there have been no great episodes**


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